Learning Curve
by ScintillatingTart
Summary: Life doesn't come with instruction manuals. Morgan/Garcia, Garcia/OFC; co-written with Monnie32
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Hell no, we don't own anything to do with Criminal Minds. Sorry, too poor for that.

Not so disclaimer: This was co-written with Monnie32, and holy moly, it's fun to play with other people in a communal sandbox. (No comments from the peanut gallery, yo.)

* * *

Learning Curve

by Monnie32 and Scintillating Tart

* * *

**Part One**

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who dreamed of things like being married to a wonderful man, having lots of fat, happy babies with big smiles, and true love coming out her god-blessed ears. Then she grew up, kissed a lot of frogs (that didn't turn into princes), and found herself face-to-face with the most impossible situation on the planet:

_Watching Kevin Lynch fall all over himself._

It was like watching a gazelle trying to take its last breath as the lion crushes it in its fierce jaws...yes...it was that bad!

When you are little, you have this notion of a fairytale romance, filled with prince charming being so uber romantic it is sickening, then you come face to face with the Kevin Lynch's of the world.

The worst part was that they were in the middle of a diner at 2 o'clock in the morning - and he thought it would behoove him to propose marriage. Marriage and greasy hash browns. Mmm, what a match made in heaven.

She didn't know whether she should pity him or laugh at him. The only thing that could've been worse was if he'd chosen a bag of take-away tacos from the 24-hour Mexican place and a couple of cans of Red Bull. Honestly, did the man even have a romantic bone in his body? Or did he really think that video games, greasy over-salted diner food, and energy drinks made up for not showing a girl how much you love her?

What was love, anyway? Was it staying put with someone who was comfortable for the sake of gliding through life easily? Was it opening yourself to new pains and suffering in the name of being with someone? Hell if she knew.

All she really knew was that, looking at Kevin Lynch on one knee on a greasy, nasty diner floor and their waitress standing there with her slice of French Silk pie, Penelope would've kissed the waitress and run like hell.

Her heart was in her throat. She was choking back tears. This was not how it was done, didn't he watch movies? I mean he could have done some research, there are videos for that sort of thing all over the internet, which she knew he was not a stranger to. There was probably even an App for it if he looked.

For all intensive purposes Kevin Lynch was a disappointment. He was in the bedroom, she got used to it not mattering; she even tried to spice it up and he botched that. She should have taken her first instinct to refuse him when he asked all those years ago, but she was raw, still raw from the Battle fiasco, mad at Derek for making her feel pitied. It seemed like the thing to do to make him jealous. Now she was stuck with him on a greasy floor in a diner asking him to marry her. If he asked her to buy the farm again she was sure she would deck him.

He was looking up at her expectantly, and she felt sick to her stomach. Confrontation was not her strong suit and all this would bring was yet another fight. She looked at the ring - which he'd probably been saving up to buy for the entire time they'd known one another - and felt terrible. But not terrible enough to say yes. She would not bully herself to say yes when it was all she could to do not to be disappointed in herself for letting it go this far for the sake of comfortability.

"Kevin, you're going to ruin your pants - you're kneeling in a puddle of grease," she said. "Get off the floor, okay?"

"Penny - you haven't answered me..." he whined.

She took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of her nose beneath her glasses, and said, "I can't marry you, Kevin."

"Am I seriously not good enough? I have put four- years into this relationship - four years. I could have went back to school and got a degree in that time - and I finally get the courage up to ask you to marry me - with not an ounce of help from Morgan, even though I asked - I asked Morgan for help proposing to you, Penny - Morgan! And you say no?"

Her head was spinning,_ how - now why - who does that? Who asks the best friend for help proposing? Sure some men might, but how many women have a guy as a best friend? A gorgeous chocolate adonis of a best friend who licking ice cream off of would be so much fun - FOCUS - Focus Penelope._

"I can't - I'm not ready for this - not now - I don't honestly know if I ever will be."

"Would you say yes if Morgan asked?" he spat.

"Kevin, I'm not ready for marriage, I wouldn't care if Prince William himself was doing the asking." _Even though i am sure it would be far more romantic than this - probably a romantic adventure - maybe on one knee in the sand on a moonlight night - - Focus Penelope - focus!_

"So what?" Kevin asked. "No one's ready for marriage -"

"You're not ready for marriage?" she challenged, feeling suddenly emboldened. "Then why are you asking me? Huh? Because that's what's expected of you when you reach a certain point in a relationship? Why can't we be an exception to the rule? I like having my own space and my own time to decompress from work - I don't want to spend my entire life beholden to someone because we happened to exchange vows and put on rings and said, 'oh, yes, we're together forever'. What the hell, Kevin? I told you already that I'm not ready for marriage - and I probably won't ever be." The words felt good to say - she wanted something temporary, transitory, much like herself. She didn't want to be tied down because once that happened, once her heart took root and flourished, something would happen and she'd be alone and wandering in the wilderness again.

The look on his face was enough to make her want to slap him senseless.

Her logic clearly just wasn't enough to appease him; and she didn't have answers for him that she could disassemble into nice little quantitative pieces that fit his worldview. No, she was a jumbled up mess of insecurities, fear, and all those things that kept her from just jumping into things like marriage - and she couldn't tell him that his tie didn't match his shirt which didn't match his shoes... and his fly had been open all night.

And he was still on the floor.

She grabbed her purse, pulled a $20 bill out of her wallet and handed it to the waitress, who was still hovering with the pie. "Keep the change," Penelope said, rushing into the night without another glance at Kevin.

The cold crisp air hurt. It hurt her lungs like she had been holding her breath for too long, maybe she had. She needed to clear her head, erase the events that took place tonight from her mind, she was sure that pure bleach couldn't do that justice. She just wanted to forget. Forget Kevin, forget the proposal and forget this night ever happened.

She really didn't even know where she was, Kevin had drove, said it was someplace special, oh special it was but he seemed to have a jaded view of the word, or maybe she did. She just wanted to go home, someplace nice and comfortable filled with her familiar things, as far away from that diner and Kevin Lynch as she could get until she figured things out.

She hailed a cab - luckily, there were still a few out and about. She gave the driver directions to her apartment and that was it for running. Once she was safely sequestered among her things, she finally broke down and cried herself to sleep.

When the alarm went off in the morning, she knew she was going to look like she'd partied hard and hung herself up to dry - and that was the frigging truth. It took much more time to clean up and put on makeup to hide her puffy eyes and sallow complexion than usual, and she didn't even feel like wearing something cute and sassy. So she put on a black skirt and a simple white top, plain black flats, and no jewelry. The last thing she needed was a reminder of the diamond that had been sparkling up at her and -

Penelope felt like she'd been hit by a brick wall.

A brick wall named Kevin Lynch.

She walked in with a purpose - to get to her office and evade everyone completely. That was until they caught a case, then she would have to step up to the plate and be her witty self and present the case and do her job. She just hoped they didn't need Kevin too, he was the last person she wanted to see.

She tucked herself into her office and busied herself turning things on.

She didn't even hear the door open.

"Hey Princess - how was.." she turned around. "Whoa - no offence baby girl, but you might want to get the number for the truck that just hit you."

"Thanks Derek, but I am fine."

"I know you are fine, baby girl, but today you are definitely not yourself. I don't even need to be a profiler to see that. Where are your wild colors, your huge shoes that make those legs looks so sexy under those fishnet tights and your jewelry that just makes that gorgeous chest of yours pop. - Huh, where is it all, what happened?"

"Nothing happened," she said. "Why do you automatically think something happened because I forgot to do laundry and just threw on what I had clean?" she snapped.

"Okay, okay," Derek said, putting his hands up in surrender. "You wanna talk about it, you know where to find me."

She sighed and muttered, "Kevin and I broke up for good last night - this morning. I think it was like four when I got to bed and the alarm went off at seven - but the point is that if you ever feel the urge to propose to someone in the middle of a greasy diner? Douse yourself in gasoline and set yourself on fire. It's less painful than your girlfriend walking out and catching a cab home."

Derek didn't even know what to say. How did he trump that. "First of all, I - would NEVER, I repeat - NEVER - propose in the middle of a greasy diner - not my style. It would be far better than that and you know it." He grinned. "Did he tell you his suggestion he threw at me for Tacos and Red Bull. I couldn't even dignify that with a comment, I just walked away." He shook his head.

Penelope was near tears. "Even that would have been better than this - not by much...but maybe a bit."

Derek took her into his arms. "Hey, I'm here for you, you know that, right?"

"I know - thanks." she sniffed wiping her face.

"Wanna come over tonight and watch a movie?" he asked. "Nothing like self-soothing with movies with explosions and -"

"You know, I think I just want to be alone for a couple of days," she said. "No offense to my best friend or anything - I just... need to be alone to process the fact that I just condemned myself to a life of singledom." Her smile wavered. "Maybe I should get a cat."

"Baby Girl," Derek said, "don't go making any hasty decisions - you don't know what's gonna come down the line. You could find some nice guy who comes in to change the water in the cooler or something - you never know."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really, Hot Stuff? Have you seen the water cooler guy?"

He grinned at her. "Nice to know your standards aren't slipping - after Lynch."

"They aren't slipping, handsome, but my radar is off right now." she frowned. "Maybe Emily had it right, her cat is affectionate, doesn't ask questions and doesn't complicate things."

He laughed, "I'm not sure a cat could keep you warm at night."

"I have an electric blanket." she retorted.

"What about carnal pleasure..." he grinned.

"What about it? I have fantasies and a little battery operated toy that says I don't need a man."

"Well okay then," he said. "But what about when all you want is a little -"

"You do realize this is bordering on sexual harassment, right?" she questioned slightly caustically. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm okay - just give me a couple of days to get over this and then I'll be fine."

"I don't want you bottling things up, Penelope," Derek said warningly.

"Oh, trust me - when I boil over, there will be no bottling anything up," she said pointedly. "I need to get to work, Sug."

"Want Chinese for lunch?"

"D, seriously - did I not just say I need a couple of days to get over this?" she sighed. "That doesn't mean bitching sessions with my best friend over Chinese at lunchtime. That means me and a box of chocolates, a pint of Imagine Whirled Peace, and a hella big pot of white trash mac & cheese just like Mom used to make."

He pouted. He hated seeing her hurt - he always had. She held a special part in his heart and when she was in pain - so was he, but he had to respect her wishes.

"If you need me - for anything - and I mean anything-" he said cheekily, "Call me, I'll be here." he said walking away.

She shook her head. Not that she never thought of him THAT way, who wouldn't after you took one look at him - but men were complicated, complicated creatures - yes that's what she was telling herself. Maybe it was time to try something different - maybe women would be easier?

At least then, there would be some relatability, right?

She sighed and shook her head. Less self-pity, more concentration on finding sick perverts.

**End Part One**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Derek counted the days. She'd said, "Give me a couple of days to get over this." A couple, by definition, was two - but two weeks later, she was still moping. They'd been working a lot, and he'd been in Phoenix with the team, but he didn't have to be present to know that his Baby Girl wasn't anywhere near being over what she'd finished with Lynch. And when they Skyped in the evenings, to say goodnight, he noticed how withdrawn and tired she looked.

And then, one night, she didn't answer his call. So he texted. And got a reply of, "Out and about." Same thing the next night. And the next.

He didn't care if she was lying or actually trying to catch some tail - the woman was going to pay up for ignoring him. Just as soon as the jet landed.

He had a plan all hatched, he just needed to put it into action. When they touched down he headed right over to her place, he needed to see her. It was one of those things, after a case, he needed to decompress and she was the only one who knew how to do that. Happily he knocked lightly and walked into her apartment.

"Hey baby girl," he hollered.

Turning the corner he was not sure how he was going to deal with what he saw.

"Whoa, sorry." He said hiding his face and then he realized she was not with another man, she was with a woman.

A grin came across his face, "You know...I could come play too."

"Oh handsome, don't you know three's a crowd." Penelope laughed. She had the brunette between her legs. "Oh fuck, that is amazing..." she purred. "What did you want handsome?"

"I'll call you - or perhaps you should call me." he said and walked out.

She watched him leave, feeling more than slightly flushed from both the fact that Lola was far too damn good at what she was doing and being embarrassed at Derek having walked in on them, well, not to put it too delicately - having sex.

Lola stopped and looked up at her with mirth-filled eyes. "Was that your ex?" she teased, kissing Penelope's thigh.

"I wish," Penelope snickered breathlessly. "No, that would be my best friend -"

"Oh."

"Don't say it like that - I'm allowed one," she replied testily. "He just happens to be big and burly and kicks down doors and is very much male."

"So you have never - you know - with him."

"Goodness no, he is not interested in me like that, he prefers the tall and skinny type."

"Penelope, don't take this the wrong way but if we would have agreed he would have joined us willingly."

"You are far more his type than me, he was probably interested in you, sometimes Derek is a dog."

"Whatever- but if I was not just into chicks he could be a fun toy to play with."

Penelope sighed, "I think I have given up on men."

"Well, more's the better for me," Lola replied cheerfully, gently pinching Penelope's thigh with a grin on her lips. "I'm glad you came to the bar that night."

Penelope cracked a smile. "Me, too," she said.

"Now, enough with the chatter," Lola murmured, kissing her way up Penelope's torso, finally landing a kiss on her lips. "You talk way too much."

XXXX

Derek could not believe that she was having sex with a woman. Weird sex things were more his style than hers, Lynch must have really done a number on her. He just wished he could fix it, make it better and maybe get himself some threesome action in the process.

He shook his head, _knock it off Derek, this is not the way to get Penelope._

And of all the things he could have walked in on, Penelope being eaten out was not one of the handful he would have expected. That's not to say that he didn't find it extremely erotic, or that it wouldn't fuel his fantasies for months to come, but it was slightly disconcerting to think of his best friend that way. Even if he did want to be best friends - with benefits.

He just wasn't ready to make any kind of commitments - and Penelope was a forever type of girl. For god's sake, the Lynch fiasco played out over four and a half years. She wasn't the girl who could have one night of fantastic sex and walk away - she was the girl who would get her claws in you and never let go...

And, eventually, maybe, he'd want that. But even as it stood, he just wanted really badly to be the one between her thighs.

He decided that a drink was in order - no necessary, after all that he was in dire need of a good stiff one to continue to counteract the stiffy in his pants.

He could pine all night - take someone home from a bar to try to forget everything but it would all go back to seeing how she looked, all naked and spread out on the sofa with the woman - whose name he didn't know was lapping at her like it was a good meal.

Yup - a drink was in order - or a few dozen.

Hell, maybe he should just haul out that bottle of tequila Reid had given him for Christmas. That might help - or, rather, that which did not kill you would make you that much stronger. Like Spiderman and his spider bite.

Riiiiight - not exactly in the same league as killing your brain cells in order to forget just how fucking hot your best friend is. Because Penelope had been the star of entirely too many of his fantasies over the years, and knowing just how those shapely legs of hers actually looked might just break him completely. Tequila, a little salt - and screw the lime. He wanted to stop overthinking.

He wanted to stop thinking at all.

He opted to go home and bond with Jose. It was the easier option, he was afraid of what might happen if he got to a bar and got drunk. He would not be able to help himself. At least if he was home he would hopefully have the good sense to stay there.

Normally when things bothered him he would drink and then call her, she would work him though it, she always did, That, however, would not work for him this time. He wondered what Reid was doing. Perhaps he needed a new wing man.

But, then again, using Reid would probably backfire on him - Rossi was much more his speed. And the man had some skills in dealing with women; only three divorces, right? They couldn't all have been nightmare marriages.

Derek grunted and poured himself a shot of Cuervo - to Penelope and her girlfriend: may their relationship at least be better than her temporary insanity with Lynch. He slammed back the tequila and winced at the burn as it ran down his throat.

And then he wondered if his best friend was doing all of this for show.

It was a horrible thought, but she'd never shown a sexual interest in women before now. Was she re-molding herself because she was tired of -

_Penelope, not unsub_, he reminded himself.

This was going to be a long night - he thought as he downed another shot and shivered. Perhaps if he drank himself into oblivion it would make more sense. Oh who was he kidding? He should be happy she found someone, it was easier to stomach that she was with a woman than her being with Lynch, If he had walked in on her having sex with Lynch, with his head between those fine thighs, with his hands squeezing that amazing ass - Ok Derek, think of something else, anything else besides her - this was already shaping up to be not only a long night but a lonely one too.

He was about ready to pour another shot when his phone started buzzing. Who the hell...? He looked at the caller ID and cursed internally. "Penelope," he answered, "now is not the best time -"

"I think I owe you at least an explanation -"

"You don't owe me anything," he said, pouring that shot. "I should've called before I came over."

She coughed. "So, um - are we good?"

He sighed and lifted the shotglass to his lips. "Amazing, Baby Girl," he lied through his teeth before he drank it, praying that the tequila would knock him out before he did something stupid. "Now, you go back to that gorgeous girlfriend of yours and have a good night, okay?"  
"Do you maybe want to come over for dinner one day next week so you can formally meet her?"

Derek didn't want to say yes, but didn't want to say no either.

"Sure, long as we're not on case i would love to meet her, has anyone else met her yet?"

"Nope, just you. I will let you know what day works best. Sleep tight handsome."

"You too, baby girl."

As soon as he hung up the phone, he realized that the sinking, gnawing, angry feeling in the pit of his stomach was jealousy - and he didn't like it one bit. Derek was so wrapped up in coveting what wasn't his that he'd forgotten what _was_his: a friendship with the most incredible woman he'd ever known. He didn't need his dick getting in the way.

Despite the fact that Penelope Garcia was everything he'd ever wanted - and more.

He poured another shot, and begged whatever gods might be listening to grant him the strength to stand by her side and watch her be happy. He also prayed for oblivion and for Kevin Lynch's dick to shrivel up and fall off, but those were more selfish requests on his part.

Every time he closed his eyes all he saw was her legs white and muscled swapped around her head. That would make for some new dirty fantasies on his part.

Taking the last shot of tequila he downed it and stumbled off to bed.

XXXX

Penelope walked in with her coffee, same as usual, but Derek was nowhere to be found. She frowned; it wasn't like him to miss the chance to flirt and ask how she was this fine, rainy morning. Maybe the weather had been an omen of things to come for the day?

"So, we're all going out tonight," Emily was saying, "but Morgan already said Garcia probably has plans, so -"

"I do," Penelope said, walking up to them. "But nothing I can't work around. What time?"

JJ cleared her throat. "Eight at the usual place."

Penelope nodded. "Yeah, my plans aren't till later."

"Later?" Emily prompted with a smirk. "Really, now? Dish, PG."  
"There's nothing to dish -"

"Please tell me you and Lynch aren't back together," JJ said, wrinkling her nose.

"Oh no! I'd NEVER go back to that, I have moved on."

"Morgan?" Emily questioned.

"Um no - but I do have a girlfriend."

"Did you just say you have a girlfriend?"

Penelope nodded walking away. She retreated to her office and closed the door, knowing that there would be a barrier between her and the rest of the world - and, for once, she was fine with that. She was still adjusting to life in the other lane and she felt a little bit conspicuous and more than slightly on display after last night - but how was she supposed to know that Morgan was going to come over and catch them fooling around on the couch?

Worse yet, she'd felt like a teenager getting caught by her parents. Oh, yes, she went there. Morgan was like that overprotective daddy who was just as likely to shoot her suitor in the face as to actually let her date someone in peace. Well, forget that - she had her big girl panties on (fuck me panties - the kind that were little more than stretch lace) and she could do whatever she damn well pleased, with or without his approval.

Though why she cared what he thought, aside from him being her best friend, she really didn't know. If all he was going to do was be counterproductive to her happiness, what kind of a friend was that?

She got up and locked the door, she wanted to work in peace and not have to answer millions of questions. They were sure going to want to interrogate her, but she didn't want to have to deal with that right now.

Her phone went off, _x how are you doing? need someone to talk to? x_

_x I am fine, handsome, I am a big girl, remember. x. _

She tossed her phone on her desk and returned to what she was doing.

It was lunchtime before she knew it, but she'd packed herself a sandwich and a salad today, so she didn't need to leave her lair - but she'd forgotten the need for more caffeinated beverages, so she scowled at her lunch and scurried to the soda machine. She hoped that she'd be able to just get a Coke and get back to her desk, but no...

JJ sidled up and said, "So, you're -"

"Incredibly busy," Penelope said. "Working through lunch for the B Team - "

"Are you trying to avoid us?" JJ inquired.

"No, that just happens to be a side-effect of working like a dog," Penelope replied, grabbing her soda and attempting to retreat. Her withdrawl was blocked by Emily. "Guys, seriously - we can have girly chat later."

"We want the goods- what's it like?"

"Like seriously?" Penelope snapped. "It feels good and makes me happy, and quite frankly Lola can please me better than any man I have ever been with."

She turned and walked away.

Emily looked to JJ, "I think we hit a nerve?"

"I think you did, yes," JJ said. "I was just going to walk away and talk to her later, but no - you had to blunder in and make her pissy..."

"She's been pissy all day."

"I think she's allowed - especially since Morgan spilled the beans about her being in a relationship," JJ pointed out. "He's a guy: he just couldn't help himself. It's the whole 'guy wants in a threesome because two girls are making out' thing. Will's asked me about a threesome a couple of times, and I just don't think that would be any fun for me."

"From what Penelope says maybe if you tried it you would decide against Will." Emily laughed, who knows.

"I just don't think it is my style is all. Besides, I personally think Morgan is more jealous than anything, he acted the same way around Lynch, or don't you remember?"

"I try not to pay attention to Morgan." Emily said walking away.

JJ sighed and shook her head, then returned to her desk.

**End Part Two**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

"Look, I mean, you don't have to come," Penelope said. "It's just dinner and drinks with the team."

"I want to come," Lola said cheerfully. "Let me finish up this file; I'm lobbying the Senate Environmental Sub-Committee tomorrow and my assistant botched part of the file."

"Want some help?" Penelope asked. "I could probably get the info for you faster than -"

"FBI agents shouldn't lobby the federal government or help in doing so," Lola teased with a wink. "Give me five - I'm almost done, and then I'll change."

Penelope decided that she would blow their minds. She got herself into an outfit that would make the devil himself blush. Her trademarked fishnets and boots, a short skirt and a corset over a tank top which left nothing to the imagination. She checked herself in the mirror then walked out of her room.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, posing for Lola.

"Can we stay in?" she joked.

Penelope chuckled. "No, but we can make a hasty exit -"

Lola closed her laptop and grabbed her overnight bag. She passed Penelope and paused long enough to give her a soul-searing kiss that made her toes curl. "You look good, like a naughty, sexy goddess," she murmured, walking away before things could get out of hand.

When she came out of the bathroom, Lola was the antithesis of her daytime, buttoned-down corporate lawyer persona - she was in a maxi skirt and tank top with her hair up in braids, like a flower child come to life. "So, lead on to the profilers," Lola teased with a wink, relaxed and happy with a real smile on her lips for the first time since she'd arrived at Penelope's for the night. "Is there a Cole's notes version of what I should know?" Lola asked, "I don't want to appear stupid."

"Let me see," Penelope began, grabbing her purse and heading out, "Hotch is our head honcho, he is a bit stuffy, used to be a lawyer, so you should be used to that. Now Rossi, he is our Italian Stallion, and he apparently is the reason for a lot of the frat rules. Emily kinda keeps to herself, JJ is sweet and innocent, her son is my godson, Reid is the token smart guy, his is also Henry's godfather and of course you have already met Morgan, the token hottie." She smiled getting into the car, "That about sums it up."

"I didn't really 'meet' Morgan," Lola replied cheekily. "Or, rather, I didn't exactly look up."

Penelope blushed; yeah, that much was true enough. Lola was pretty shameless and didn't really give a damn what anyone thought of her outside of work - and Penelope was down with that. She was comfortable with Lola: it was easy and they both knew when to back off and back down.

That was something Kevin had never learned, nor apparently had Derek Morgan.

Penelope leaned over and gave her girlfriend a kiss. "I promise tonight will be fun," she said in a low, husky tone. "And when we get back, it'll be even better."

Pulling into the restaurant, they jumped out of the car and flooded inside. She caught her friends and joined them. They all just looked at her, never really said a word.

"Guys, I would like you to meet Lola," Penelope smiled. "My girlfriend."

Hotch was the first to react. He held out his hand to greet her.

Lola shook hands with everyone before sitting down, then she turned to Morgan. "Sorry I didn't get to meet you before, I was a bit preoccupied," she said, then sat down beside Penelope.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa - you got to meet her?" Emily said, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't say that - just that Garcia was seeing someone..."

Derek crossed his arms defensively and said, "Don't start jumping on me, Prentiss -"

Penelope blushed again, trying to avoid looking at him; she could feel the judgmental backpedaling going on from where she was sitting. "He came over and Lola and I were, well -"

"We were having sex," Lola stated matter-of-factly. "That's all - I'm sure you've all had a similar experience with someone walking into the middle of things."

JJ and Will exchanged glances. "Henry," JJ said, "all the damn time."

"Gotta love kids," Hotch added, "they need a glass of water at the most inopportune times."

"I wouldn't know." Rossi laughed, "but having a current wife catch you with someone else is not a nice thing either."

Reid just sat there and took it all in.

"What about you Derek, anyone catch you?" Prentiss asked.

Derek huffed, "I don't want to be a part of this, can we please change the subject?"

"I'm sure you've already heard all about what we do," JJ said, "so, what do you do, Lola?"

"I'm a lawyer," Lola commented dryly. "Mainly in the sense of I'm a lobbyist for an environmental affairs corporation out of California."

"Kitten, you took a step up in the world," Rossi said, tipping his wineglass at her. "I'm proud of you - lawyers are nothing to sneeze at."

"As opposed to greasy-haired computer hackers?" Penelope muttered wryly.

"I have nothing against your ex - except for the fact that he treated you badly in the end," Rossi commented. "That is tantamount to treasonous behavior in my book."

"I used to practice law," Hotch added, "before this. I think I am better suited here."

"So did you all get your start in law enforcement?" Lola asked.

"All but Penelope," Reid added.

"Oh, I knew that - she is a little wild for law enforcement." Lola laughed, "Aren't you babycakes?"

Morgan cringed; he thought for sure she was gonna say baby girl.

"My little Lolita, you make me this way for sure," she laughed.

"No way," Lola teased. "You came by this naughty streak long before I was around." She smiled around the table. "Did she tell you how we met?"

"She hasn't told us anything," Reid commented, giving Penelope a look; she knew that look and knew that she would be having words with him later.

"Oh - well, I was out with some of my work colleagues, celebrating ten more votes on HR 1987, and Penelope was there getting shitfaced," Lola said with a chuckle.

"I was not," Penelope protested with a pout. "I only had two drinks -"

"Because I took you home," Lola pointed out. She left off everything else that had happened that night - the dancing, the flirting, the wild fucking in the car in the parking lot... but the memories were enough to make Penelope flush bright red in the face and grin goofily.

"What's wrong, PG?" Emily prodded.

"Nothing." She said looking to Lola, "Let's dance."

They were on the dance floor, bumping and grinding to the music. Morgan went and grabbed a girl and followed. What they did, he did, until it got a little racy and the girl he was dancing with got a little uncomfortable with it.

After the song ended, Penelope and Lola went back to the table. "So Lola," JJ asked, "what is that short for?"

"My parents were hippies, my legal name is Sunshine Olivia Davison, so I go by Lola, much more pleasing to say." She smiled at Penelope.

"Baby Girl," Derek said, "didn't you say your parents were hippies?"

"Mmhmm," Penelope replied, smiling over at him. "I guess like attracts like in this case -"

"Not too much alike," Lola teased, giving her a quick kiss. "That would be boring."

"Garcia can't abide things that are boring," Reid interjected. "I'd advise against getting too much into a routine -"

"I like stability, Junior G-Man," Penelope contradicted.

"Stability doesn't equal boring," Hotch said.

"Why does anything have to be boring?" Penelope asked. "You can have fun with anything - believe me."

They all looked at Penelope and decided to end the conversation there. "Ready to eat?" Hotch asked.

"Indeed," Penelope agreed. She put in her order - roasted eggplant noodles with fresh green peas and mushroom cream sauce - and sat back to watch the others. Everyone else got their normal favorites, but Derek surprised her by ordering what she had, and Lola went with a safe salad and soup. That wasn't exactly surprising: Lola ate like a bunny and had the body to prove it.

She was also surprised that Derek kept watching her furtively, and would put up a blank poker face whenever she and Lola shared anything with a hint of intimacy to it.

Penelope didn't like this side of her best friend - the side where she didn't know what he was thinking.

He wore his poker face most the night, she was not able to read him at all. His words were curt and short and not a hint of flirting or sass. He watched her every move, every bite she took, he followed, but eventually they all parted for the evening went their separate ways.

"I like your friends," Lola said with a smile. "Especially Doctor Reid - he's quite personable when he wants to be, I think. I don't know about Morgan, though."

"He's just mad because I've left him out of the loop," Penelope said. "He'll get over it."

Lola raised an eyebrow. "He was almost hostile in there."

Penelope sighed. "The last case was rough -"

"You don't have to explain his issues to me," Lola said. "Let's just go back to yours and have a little bit of that fun you promised."

"I promised him I would always be there for him - when cases are hard - and I wasn't, so that may be on me... He compartmentalizes a lot and then he is hostile."

"You can't blame this shit on you, it is all on him." Lola spat, "Now were you up for fun or going to pout for the rest of the night, if that's the case I'll go and take care of myself!"

"Oh, no, I'm definitely in the fun boat," Penelope said, unlocking Esther and grinning at Lola. "Did you bring the -"

"The strap-on?" Lola interjected, grinning.

"I was going to say the - you know, nevermind."

"For being a very sexual woman, you're a prude when it comes to fucking a girl," Lola pointed out with a smirk.

"Because I was never with a girl - even experimenting - before you waltzed into my life two weeks ago," Penelope admitted. "And I'm enjoying every moment of this."

"So exactly how wild have you gotten - I mean with a guy and all?"

"Well I'm not really a prude - as you called it - I role play, a bit of Bondage, whatever feels nice..."

"Any threesomes?" Lola asked.

"Um no...why?"

"Just asking - just asking."

"I mean, three's a crowd, isn't it?" Pen asked, backing out of her parking space and putting the car back into gear. "Sex is very intimate - I'd only want to share it with one person. I'm a lot of girl to handle, you know."

"Oh, you definitely are," Lola said with a deep, sexy laugh. "And whoever has you is lucky as hell. I'm just glad it's me for a while."

"That sounds like a pre-breakup line," Penelope said, suddenly worried.

"Penelope, I know you are not a lesbian, I'm not foolish, so the fact I get to play with you for a while is great. If it goes long term, even better. But if it doesn't, I'll have the memories we made."

"But I really like you, Lola," Penelope admitted

"And I like you, but I have been through this countless times before."

Penelope sighed. "Look, I -"

"I'm the rebound chick," Lola said, "the one you run to when you're down on yourself and your relationship that's fallen apart - and that's okay. That's how I roll, apparently. I'm okay with it. I just don't want you to think that I'm not as serious about our relationship as I am. I'd like more, I'd like something deeper and forever... but there are things outside of my control. And that's how I feel about it." She shrugged. "I just have to let things hit me as they will."

"This isn't just about sex," Penelope said, shaking her head as she slowed for a traffic light. "I'm not in this for the sex - I want to be your friend, your confidant, your everything. That's what a relationship is supposed to be like, right?"

"You just got out of a four-year stint where you couldn't even stand to look at the guy at the end," Lola challenged. "So what's going to happen to us in four years? If I asked you to marry me, would you do the same thing?"

"For one thing, I have nothing against marriage -"

"Right."

"I just wasn't ready to tie myself down to him," Penelope finished.

"But will you be ready in another four years? I mean - I would like to eventually start a family and have kids and stuff? Is that what he wanted - what made you run?"

"No nothing like that at all - he wanted me to move and buy a farm - me on a farm. Picture that and you tell me why I couldn't do it."

"What about moving somewhere to settle down and have babies?" Lola interjected.

"If you want anything fun to happen tonight I would suggest changing the subject," Penelope said dryly.

"I'm just trying to gauge -"

"I'm trying to forget everything but you," Penelope murmured. "Can you just help me a little here and be my sexy, gorgeous girlfriend, please? Leave the lawyer in the briefcase."

Lola reached over and turned on the radio.

XXXX

It was damn unfair - just so damn unfair. Derek was a walking bundle of nerves and sexual frustration after seeing his Baby Girl in that outfit - and being so solicitous and sexy with some girl who wasn't worthy of worshipping his goddess.

He added another 10lbs. to his machine and went back to pumping. Something, anything, to get his mind off of those legs wrapped around his waist, her breasts ready to be -

He was so screwed.

And the idea that they'd gone home and were probably in the middle of fucking didn't help anything. He was so damn tired of being jealous. But it was his legacy - say nothing, hold back, compartmentalize, and lose the girl over and over again.

He was tired. He just wanted to get rid of all this pent-up energy; he wished he had a better route to use it in than the gym. He would be far more satisfied having a fling with someone. Nothing with strings, just sex - really good fucking and send her home.

Why did his head have to go there? Now he was back to thinking about Penelope.

A cold shower was not going to fix this problem.

He finally gave up fighting it - if he couldn't have her, just like always, he would just have to use his thoughts of her to his advantage. He put his weights away and headed to the shower. It wasn't very long before he was drowning in mental images of red lips, perky, sexy breasts just the right size for thrusting his cock against -

He was going to rub himself raw one of these days, thinking about his Baby Girl.

He tried to go to bed, sleep would not come easy. He was too busy thinking what Penelope and Lola were doing back at her place. Her head between those gorgeous thighs, then Penelope perched between Lola's... His hands went back to his hard cock. If he didn't do something soon he might not have one to use.

The idea of them 69ing, licking, sucking, moaning, panting, writhing, was enough to make him explode, spraying cum with force. He groaned. He could deal with her fucking Lynch - he wasn't attractive or anything. But Lola was different - she was pretty, sexy, a geniunely good person who deserved Penelope's affection. And that was dangerous. He was going to lose her for good and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. Lola was perfect for her.

He sighed, dried himself off and went to his bedroom. Slipping on a pair of shorts he crawled on the bed trying to get sleep to come.

He was ready to mourn losing his baby girl, he felt like he had. He couldn't compete with Lola; he felt like he'd lost and was completely defeated.

Derek woke up from his light doze to the sound of someone creeping up his steps and into his room. He wasn't worried; he knew what Penelope sounded like when she did this. She climbed into bed with him, her tears still fresh and her scent reeking of fear. He opened his arms and held her; there was no one else to comfort her nightmares.

"Shouldn't you be with Lola?" he asked.

"I didn't want to wake her up," Penelope whispered, her voice still husky with tears. "I dreamed about dying again - about being shot -"

"You are fine, baby, right here -" he soothed her. "I told you all that time ago that I will protect you every day of my life - and I meant it."

"I feel so silly," she admitted wiping her tears on her sweater .

He wiped some tears with his hands. "It's ok, really."

He turned the light on to open the bed. He tried not to look at her, the thoughts that were running through his head still were not of a PG variety, they were more Nc-17 or xxx. She was there for comfort, nothing else. He ushered her into bed beside her and held her until she fell asleep.

And he knew he'd have to explain this to her girlfriend - that wouldn't be pretty.

**End Part Three**


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four**

Penelope let herself back into her apartment and face to face with Lola, who was bleary-eyed, naked, and holding a cup of coffee. "Where did you go?" Lola asked. "I worried and you didn't take your phone -"

"I had a nightmare," Penelope sighed, moving to the coffee pot. "I didn't want to wake you up - I know today's a big day for you."

"So you sleepwalk when you have nightmares? Is that what I am learning?"

"Oh god no!" Penelope groaned. "I don't sleep walk."

"So then where did you go?"

Penelope was silent.

"Is it that bad you can't tell me, like really?"

"I went to Derek."

Lola was silent for a moment. Then she cocked her head and said, "Did it help?"

"I went back to sleep," Penelope said, "so I guess it did."

"So I should just expect you to bolt when you have a nightmare?"

"No - most of the time, when I have a nightmare, I lie awake in bed and cry," Penelope admitted. "It's just... the bad ones, the ones where I relive getting shot... those, I need Derek to cope with. He was with me every day after I was shot - he helped me every step of the way and he promised to be there if I need him."

"So I just get to play second fiddle to Derek?"

"No, nothing like that at all."

"That's what it is sounding like to me."

"I promised him I would never stop talking to him and he promised me he would protect me every day of my life."

"I don't get it." Lola said with her hands in the air, "Maybe I just don't get men?"

"What do you mean?"

"The man is head over fucking heels in love with you, but he won't make a damn move," Lola said. "He's just sitting there, being miserably jealous because I happened to scoop you up."

"No, it's not like that," Penelope protested. "He's just my best friend."

"Really?" Lola asked.

"Really, really," Penelope said firmly.

"You don't fantasize about him fucking you?"

Penelope blanched. "Not as much as I used to," she mumbled. "I wouldn't be with you if I didn't want you, Lola - I want you and I need you."

"No more sneaking out in the middle of the night to see him," Lola warned. "Seriously - "

"No more," Penelope promised.

Lola gave her a warm, passionate kiss that tasted like coffee and honey. Penelope moaned, deepening the kiss, loving the feel of Lola's tongue stroking against hers, arousing feelings that had been dormant for a lifetime. "We have time before we have to go to work," Lola murmured suggestively, leading Penelope back to bed.

They were a frenzy of touching, thrusting, kissing, fingers and lips, pressure and feather-light strokes. But there was something missing - and not exactly talking about the lack of penis, either. It was almost like the zing was gone already.

Penelope sighed when she crawled out of bed to hit the shower, she hated to admit it but she missed Derek. She could still smell his cologne on her shirt; it wasn't that he bathed in it, but he always smelled so good. It made her shiver. Her mind drifted to him, touching, feeling, kissing and caressing. She began to touch herself whilst in the shower, before too long another orgasm rocked her body.

_What the hell was she going to do now?_

XXXX

She didn't have to worry too much about it. The team was gone for six weeks, and in that six weeks, almost all she did was work. She was too tired to do anything but fuck Lola and collapse into bed. And at the end of the case, she was so tired of seeing sick images and horrifying videos that she didn't even want to welcome her heroes home.

"We're going out," she announced to Lola on the phone. "Just you and me - we're going out tonight and I reserved a hotel room and I just don't give a damn. I'm so tired of work."

"What about the team, don't you always welcome them home - do your thing with them?"

"I want this to be about me and you - only me and you."

"I don't want to come between you and your job," Lola announced. "I thought you would be doing stuff with them; so when we decided to go celebrate the bill, I thought you'd be with them at work."

"Oh - "

"I could call and cancel - "

"No, don't bother, I don't want to come between you and your peeps either."

"Babycakes, if you want me to -"

"I'll just go by myself," Penelope said hollowly. "It's just... we haven't really had much time together lately and I don't want you to think you need to go hunting for new pussy already."

"I wouldn't think that," Lola interjected.

"I'd hope not, but these jobs really get in the way of relationships; I saw it with Kevin and the rest of them."

"I want you, how about I meet you after? We can compromise?"

"Sounds good."

XXXX

Penelope was all settled in watching TV when her phone went off. She assumed it was Lola, looking at the caller display she realized it was not.

"Derek."

"Where are you?" he asked brusquely.

"Does it matter where I am?" she inquired.

"You always come with us after a case - and I stopped at your place to pick you up and you aren't there." His voice was clipped and angry.

"No, you're right - I'm not," she said with a sigh. "I'm not coming tonight. Sunny and I have plans."

"Sunny? I thought you were with Lola -"

"Oh, shut up," she muttered. "Stop acting like a jealous fool, Derek - _Lola _and I have plans. What is your problem, anyway? You never talk to me anymore."

"I don't like being a third-wheel."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think your girlfriend is comfortable with me? Do you think she would want me to come over, cuddle with you on the sofa while she sits there munching on popcorn."

"You used to come around when I was dating Kevin."

"Lynch was different."

"How so?"

"He wasn't a chick."

"So Lola's a girl - what does that have to do with anything?" she challenged.

"I like to fuck girls, Penelope, in case you hadn't noticed -"

"Well, you know what? So do I," she said firmly. "You've changed how you treat me ever since you found out I was seeing her."

"Is it serious?" he asked. "You're not just using her to get laid?"

"It's very serious," Penelope ground out through clenched teeth. "Why do you think I'm not out with the team? Because I'm making my relationship work - unlike everyone else."

"Well, I hope it works for you, I really do - you deserve happiness." His voice was full of sadness.

"Well go out and have some fun, Mr Player. Get yourself laid," she joked.

"Naw, I'm just not into it."

"Suit yourself. I am awaiting my girl and we're gonna have us some fun."

"I'll let you go."

Penelope drifted off to sleep and woke up alone.

She checked her phone with blurry eyes (despite her glasses), and read Lola's text. _ x Ran into your team at the bar - Morgan had some interesting things to say. I'm on my way now. x _Penelope didn't know whether to cry or call Derek and yell at him for accosting Lola.

Five minutes later, Lola was slipping into the hotel room and taking off her shoes. "Hey, babycakes," she murmured. "Sorry I'm late - the guys insisted on changing bars and we ran into your team. Did I wake you up?" she asked, taking in Penelope's disheveled appearance and the blaring TV on the news station.

"I was here all by myself, what did you think I'd be doing?"

"I don't know Penelope, you should have gone out with your friends."

"I was more interested in having 'us' time, apparently I was the only one!"

"Penelope, I like ya and all, but a needy woman is not something I can handle now or ever."

"I'm not needy," Penelope snapped. "I just thought that -"

"You just thought that you and I were going to be able to push past the obvious?" Lola shot back. "That I'm a lesbian and you would rather have some dick?"

"Why are you doing this?" Penelope asked. "Two days ago, we were happy -"

"Yeah, well, your friend Morgan? Ask him. I love you to death, Penelope Garcia, but I am not playing second fiddle to that man anymore - period. I'm done, I'm out." Lola threw her hands up in the air.

"Lola, wait." Penelope called after her. She slammed the door and kept walking.

Penelope growled, "Derek Morgan when I get my hands on you - you will rue the day you opened that mouth of yours."

She packed her things up and headed to his house, she was not going to sleep until she got some answers.

Every light in his house was blazing when she arrived and his front door was wide open - something quite unusual. She heard off-key singing somewhere and then a female giggle.

That's when she walked away and closed the door behind her.

**End Part Four**


	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five**

She carried her mug of coffee and laptop into work, brushing right past Derek with her head held high. "Pump your brakes, woman -"

She ignored him and sped up, slamming the door to her office shut right before he walked straight into it with a wounded _THUMP_.

"Ouch - fuck," she heard, and he was trying to open the door. "Baby girl, open this door."

"No!"

"Penelope, please open the door."

"I said no - now leave me alone!"

"You know better than that, now open this door."

"I'm done with you and your bullshit, Derek Morgan," Penelope snapped. "Did you know that Lola left me last night? Because of something you said? And then I went over to your place to find out what the _fuck _you told her - and you were banging some bimbo."

"Some bimbo - what? Prentiss came with me to make sure I got home okay and stayed the night because we had a little too much fun with Jose." He thumped the door. "Baby Girl, open this damn door -"

"What did you say to Lola?"

"I was drinking, Gorgeous -"

"I don't give a damn. What the hell did you say to her that would make her think that she had to leave me? _WHAT DID YOU SAY?_" The force, anger, and anguish in her tone surprised even her.

"Let me in, you are causing a scene."

"I don't care, what the hell did you tell her?"

"I told her I loved you."

"That's it?"

He was silent. "No, I told her if she ever hurt you I would crush her like a bug."

He heard the door unlock.

It opened and she said, "I'm really mad at you. I'm furious. I'm beyond furious. She was it, Derek - she was my One. And you just chased her away because you're a goddamn ogre. A big, stinky, hairless ogre who thinks he has to protect me from the world - and I don't need you."

"That's not it at all." He said pulling her into a hug.

"Then what is it? huh?"

"Seeing you with her hurt. She is a good person, you are a good person - I could see it being long term."

"Not now - you fucked that up!"

"Let me talk... I was slowly realizing that I didn't like Lola with you because I wanted to be the one with you. I need you, and I only just realized how much."

"You can need me all you want," she muttered, pushing him away. "But I need her, Derek - not you. You're my best friend, not my lover - you pushed away the one person I actually wanted to plan a future with. I'm done with men. Totally done."

"I'm sorry, I really am. I am a selfish egotistical pig, I'll admit that, but I love you and I can't change that."

"I want Lola," she whined.

"Then I will help you get her back."

"No," Penelope snapped. "You ruined this for me, Derek - at least let me be fucking miserable. Go away. Don't talk to me. Stay out of my life."

"Baby Girl -"

"I thought I loved you once," she said, shaking her head and backing away from him. "Now I don't know how I could have."

There was pain in his eyes, "Penelope, please."

"Just go - leave me to my misery."

"Penelope - "

"I am not telling you again, leave me alone!"

He left, tail tucked firmly between his legs, feeling like he'd just lost everything.

XXXX

It took almost a week for Penelope to get up the courage to go to Lola's, and it had been the worst mistake of her life - worse even than dating Kevin for four years. She'd already been replaced by a skinny redhead with freckles, British-style teeth, and a biker attitude.

It was hard to take a blow like that straight to the gut. She'd never thought that she'd be thrown over so completely, so soon.

Girls were so much worse than men. They got into your head, made you believe things so much more strongly... and then they fucked you over and left you for dead.

When she'd asked the very simple question, "Why?", the new girlfriend had laughed and said, "Well, maybe you would've stood a chance with her if you weren't a fat pig - and suck dick instead of pussy."

Penelope was hurt - very hurt and she wasn't sure if she would ever be the same. On route home she stopped by the liquor store and decided to console herself with a few friends, she enlisted Captain Morgan, The Russian Prince, Jose Cuerrvo and Jack Daniels. If she got to the bottom of every bottle she wouldn't feel anything, right?

She was feeling a bit - okay, a lot - woozy when she got to the bottom of the vodka. She stumbled to the bathroom and threw up everything in her stomach, then laughed it off sadly and reached for the rum.

She wanted nothing more than to call Derek and pour her heart out - but she'd already burnt that bridge. So she started on the tequila.

The last thing she remembered was falling and hitting her head on the floor.

She woke up in a puddle of what she assumed was Tequila - or she hoped it was, she smelled like a brewery. Looking at the table there were empty bottles, that would explain the pounding in the head, all the alcohol she drank. Too bad all it did was cloud things; she could still remember how horrible her life had actually become.

She frowned and reached for her phone, blearily looking at the screen, hoping that Hotch hadn't tried to call her in while she was smashed. No, but there were a bunch of drunken texts to random people in her contacts list -

And one outgoing call.

She groaned and all but threw the phone across the room. The fact that she didn't remember calling Derek, nor the fact that she had no idea what they would've been talking about for almost an hour just mystified her.

_What the fuck, Penelope - seriously, what the FUCK? Like everything wasn't shitty enough, no, you call the one person who managed to ruin everything by loving you. And what did you talk about last night? Did you spill the fucking beans? Does he still love you even though you practically drank yourself to death? When did you become such a world-class fuck-up?_

"Whoa, do I need swat gear to come in here?"

She groaned as soon as she heard his voice. "Go home Morgan."

"You called me, remember?"

"No actually I don't remember. I guess my four-some with the captain, jose, jack and the prince has clouded my judgement."

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up, you smell like a vagrant."

"I don't fucking need help." she said trying to get up and falling back down.

"I beg to differ, now come on."

She swatted at his hands, starting to cry. "Stop it - stop being nice to me," she sobbed. "I'm just the fat, ugly girl who can't please anyone - male or female. I know you pity me; you don't love me. As soon as someone more your type comes around, you'll be out the door faster than Lola had her new squeeze."

"Seriously? She seriously moved on? That is harsh - even I'm not that harsh."

She nodded through the tears. "I went to apologize and she was with someone new - a tiny little red haired thing."

He pulled her into his arms. "Baby girl, I don't pity you."

"Then why are you here?"

"You called me, silly, like you always do."

"But just because I called you doesn't mean anything -"

"Baby Girl," he said softly, "you were on the phone for an hour, ranting and singing and crying and I couldn't make any sense of it. I had to come make sure you were all right, sweetheart."

"See, I'm fine - now go."

"I'm not going anywhere!"

"Derek, please - just go - let me drown my sorrows."

"I'm not leaving."

She thrust the bottle of tequila - what was left of it, anyway - into his hands. "Then you better start pouring," she said warningly.

**End Part Five**


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six**

She woke up with the sun shining in her eyes and splayed naked on top of an equally naked Derek Morgan. _What the oh god, oh god no no no..._

Derek yawned and opened his eyes. "Did you get the number of the truck that ran me over?"

"I seemed to have missed it, handsome. But I think it backed back over me."

She propped herself up. "Do you remember anything?"

"Not exactly."

She grabbed a sheet to cover herself over. "Do you think do you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know."

He stood up to head to the bathroom, his tight ass bared for all to see. He bent down and picked something up.

"If this is any indication," he said holding up the unrolled condom, "it looks like we tried to have fun."

_Oh god she was _definitely_ a world class fuck up._

"If the feeling of being well-fucked is any indication, I think we may have succeeded," she groaned, closing her eyes. "But I don't think we ended up with the condom at some point because there's a pretty big wet spot I'm lying in right now." She cringed the last thing they'd needed was to have sex, and unprotected sex to boot. "Fuck I'm not going to work like this."

"I already called Hotch and left a message on my way over. My conversation with you led me to believe you were in no state to go to work."

"Should I like go to a pharmacy or something?"

"For what?"

"You know, one of those pills you know."

"No, I don't know I am a guy, remember?"

"Morning after pills," she said. "They're like"

"No," he muttered. "Damn it, no did you not hear me tell you I love you, Penelope?"

"You told Lola that you love me," she snapped. "It's not the same thing."

"Fine," he said, coming back into the room, looking like the sun was killing him. "Penelope Garcia, I fucking love you are you happy now? I love you, we fucked, you don't need a pill because I take care of my responsibilities, woman. And you are my responsibility now."

"I don't need a baby-sitter really."

"I don't want to be no fucking baby-sitter. I want to love you, worship you, fuck your brains out until you scream or at least remember doing it..."

"Derek, I …"

"Penelope, it's not up for argument."

"So, what, I don't get a say in my own life now?" she challenged.

"I don't remember fucking you, but I remember what you said before we made love," he said, his voice softening, losing the angry, hard edge. "You said that the biggest mistake you ever made was loving me. Let me prove to you that it wasn't a mistake, Penelope."

"Derek, all I do these days turns to shit. You might wanna run now."

"I told you i am not going anywhere. What part of 'I love you' did you not understand?"

"All of it." She was resisting the urge to sob. "No one deserves to love me."

"That's where you are wrong, I love you always have, always will."

He pulled her into a kiss; it was a kiss that ignited fires and she could feel it all the way in her toes.

She groaned, trying to push him away, trying to run away from him, even though she knew she didn't stand a chance of getting away he was determined. And a determined Derek was a scary Derek. She didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.

His hands wandered over her back, lower, cupping her butt and squeezing territorially. She pulled out of the kiss with a squeak.

He was after her and took her by the hands and led her back to the bed."I am going to show you just how much I love you."

"Derek"

"No, hush, let me worship you the way you deserve to be worshiped."

"Too much too soon," she protested.

"Penelope, not soon enough," he growled.

"Stop and think about what you're doing," she said, trying to lift her hands to his chest to push him away. "Please I was just with someone, and she broke me like"

"You were with her because I didn't step up to the plate," he said. "Because I couldn't admit to myself how I feel about you let alone tell you."

"Derek, I was with her because I thought I loved her," she whispered. "I thought I loved Kevin I did love you."

"You do love me," he said firmly. "I see it all over your face."

"I don't know what I love or who," she shrugged.

"I know you love me, look me in the eye and tell me I am wrong do it. If you can, I will leave with no questions asked."

"I can't," she admitted.

"Why is that?"

"Because I love you."

He smiled. "Now will you get over here so I can show you how much I love you?"

She said, "But"

"Baby Girl," he said softly, "I only want to love you. I'm not asking for the world."

"You might as well be," she mumbled. "I'm fat and everyone you've ever dated was skinny and"

"I'm not dating you," he contradicted. "I'm making up for lost time. We've been dating for years, when you think about it."

"How do you figure?"

"How many times over the years were you mistaken for my girlfriend?"

"A number..."

"Exactly. And guess what?"

"What's that?"

"I really like curves."

"There's curvaceous and then there's me," she said with a pout.

"Curvy in all the right places, goddess," he growled, pulling her back into his arms. He tweaked her butt, making her squeak again and then he kissed her. It was like pouring gasoline on a fire.

"You don't have to lie to me Derek."

"I'm not lying. You are fucking hot, and it took all the restraint I could muster not to take you before this. Then I walked in on you all naked and spread eagle on the sofa; I couldn't sleep, damn near made myself raw."

"What?" she said.

"The night I walked in on you and Lola," he said mildly. He smiled down at her. "All I could think about was being the one between your legs, woman don't ever doubt how sexy you are. I think about you all the time."

"You think about women all the time and sex," she pointed out.

"No," he corrected, "I think about you all the time and sex. But sex with you."

_Was he serious? Did he always think about her?_ A grin was forming on her face.

"You would tire of me," she said flatly.

"Never-"

"Yes and move on."

"No way you have been the star of my fantasies for years, baby girl. For _years_!"

"You are just trying to get in my pants."

"No I am not!"

"You've already been in my pants."

"Well, yes, okay but I want to remember being in your pants," he said firmly. "I want it to be amazing every time we fuck and every time we wake up in each others' arms. I want to have lots of chubby little babies with their mama's beautiful smile, and I want to know that you aren't just going to leave me and move on because I'm not the hero you think I am."

"You are too hard on yourself."

"Technically, so are you."

"Do you really see yourself settling down and having kids?"

"Only with you no one else."

Her heart skipped a beat, then sped up. "Derek, kids are a huge responsibility and if you don't love the mother of your children"

"Penelope, you haven't been listening," he said, gently grabbing her chin and turning her toward him. "I love you, you silly, hard-headed Baby Girl of mine. Well and truly love you I'm not going anywhere. I'll set up a tent out on the front steps or in the courtyard if you don't believe me. I'm not here to fuck you over and leave you like you don't matter because you do. I don't want you, Pen," he said, and her heart fell. "I don't want you because wanting implies that I'm not going to get it. I _need _you. You're more precious than the air I'm breathing right now, Goddess."

"I think you drank too much are you still drunk?" she asked flatly.

"I am not drunk mostly sober by now, actually. Why is it so hard to believe I love you?"

"Look at me: I am not exactly a prize."

"You are to me, don't you get that? I won the lottery with you 'cause after you, they broke the mold."

"They broke the mold because I was defective," she muttered.

"Baby Girl, what's it going to take to get you to believe me?" he asked. "And you're not defective. Why the hell would you think that?"

"I can't hold down a relationship, Kevin Lola I'm a fucking defective loser who is destined to be alone."

"I already told you I'm not going anywhere."

"Please just go," she whispered. "Go before you realize what a mistake you've made, okay? Just get out."

"Penelope, don't you think you're being a tiny bit unreasonable?"

"Get. Out." Her words were low, quiet, laced with conviction because she'd already appointed herself judge, jury, and executioner.

"No! he said with authority. "I am not leaving."

"I don't want you here please just go."

"I am not leaving until I convince you I am serious."

"I know you're serious," she whispered. "That's why you have to go."

"You aren't making any sense."

"If you want to prove that you love me, leave," she whispered. "Forget that last night ever happened. Find someone that isn't going to be fucking up your life and have those babies of yours, okay? I can't be the one you want to be with because I'm not good enough."

"Penelope, listen to yourself. Do you really feel that badly about yourself? I love you, goddammit!" He looked right at her. "I don't want a life and babies with anyone else, it's you or no one."

"I will never be good enough..."

Her heart was breaking she had to push him away before he could hurt her. But all she wanted to do was believe him; to give in to the urge to love and be loved with abandon. She was hurting so much, she couldn't take any more pain or pleasure, either in equal measure were poisonous.

"Baby," he whispered, cupping her face in his large, steady hands, "I love you"

"Then go," she begged. "Please. Don't hurt me, Derek just go."

"I am not going anywhere. I am going to love you and I will prove to you that I love you, even if it takes me the next fifty years."

"I don't deserve it. Let me be here in my fucking mess; I created it, it is mine to deal with."

"Why are you so damn fucking stubborn?" he growled.

"Because that's how you survive when everything goes to hell," she exhaled, stepping away from him. "You pull your pants on one leg at a time and hold your head up and just keep going." She was shaking, her hands trembling with the force of her emotions. "I have to do that, Derek please leave. I've asked you I've told you get out. Run while you still can."

"I'm not going anywhere, damn it," he repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. He sat on the bed and crossed his legs. "I am staying here until you come to your senses."

"You could starve to death," she deadpanned.

"I hope you would be nice enough to at least feed me."

"I gave you an out, why won't you take it?"

"I love you. I need you, you are my world, baby girl, my everything."

"You're insane"

"I've never been saner," he contradicted.

She closed her eyes, trying to calm her panic in the face of the storm of emotions. "Derek"

And then he was pulling her into his arms; she couldn't protest anymore against his persuasive argument in the form of kisses that she felt like a dagger to the heart. She tried to push him away but he was far too strong. She wanted to run and hide but the more he kissed her, the better it felt.

Before she knew it, she was kissing him back.

She wanted to believe him; god, how she wanted to believe that he loved her that way... But kisses and touching and sex didn't mean anything anymore. She'd broken that part of herself. If she fell back in love with him, not that she'd ever really fallen out of love with him, what was she going to do when it fell apart? She couldn't lose him. She couldn't lose his friendship -

She finally managed to put her hands on his chest and push him away so she could say, "We shouldn't do this."

"We already have," he pointed out. "We opened up Pandora's Box and survived."

She snorted a harsh laugh. "You survived," she corrected.

"You survived it too, you are just too damn stubborn to admit it."

"I can't do this I can't fuck this up and lose you...I would rather just keep you as a friend than lose you completely."

"Why don't you let me worry about things for a while?" Derek asked gently. "Stop thinking so hard and let me"

"No," she interrupted. "I need"

"Penelope."

She pushed him away again. "Give me a week," she whispered."If you're still willing... we'll talk about it."

"I'm not leaving. I will back off but I am not running away, not right now. I will go home tomorrow and give you a week, tonight I want to hold you in my arms while we sleep so you know that someone still loves you."

Her heart fluttered in her chest like a caged bird's wings and she couldn't help but cry.

**End Part Six**


	7. Chapter 7

**Part Seven**

They got called away on a case. Penelope was so glad that the week became a month, and then six weeks. She could avoid him for the most part - the only thing she couldn't avoid so easily was the nightly call from Derek to tell her just how much he loved her and wished he was with her.

She was stumbling back into love with him and she knew that would only lead to disaster.

The case was wrapping up, she knew that meant they were heading home, he didn't want to have to face him, she could fake things on the phone that she couldn't do with him there. She could fake she didn't love him - which was a bald-faced lie.

Her phone rang and she answered it with, "What can I do you for, tall dark and broody?"

"Go out with the team tonight when we get back," Derek said firmly.

"No can do, Sugar Smack," Penelope murmured. "I have plans that involve a bottle of advil, a hot bath and a bottle of wine."

"Penelope, it's been more than a week. I agreed to a week."

"You've been in Florida for a month," she sighed. "Don't tell me you haven't found yourself a little Latina hottie in a bikini to keep you company."

"Why would I?" he asked.

"Derek."

"That is my name," he said slightly snippily.

"I'm just tired - and there's been a stomach bug floating around here. I've caught it twice now. I just want to go home and relax tonight."

"Can I come over and watch a movie with you? I need to see you..."

"You better not, you will get sick for sure."

"Woman - I don't care if I get sick. I need to see you!"

"I'm not going to win this, so why bother asking."

"Because I don't want to just open up the door and find you spread eagle on the couch with someone," he said pointedly.

She felt a little dizzy and sick to her stomach at that statement. "Well, that won't be happening anytime soon," she commented dryly. "Because I have no one and I'm not looking for any kind of gratification, Derek. You can come over but I'm choosing the movie and the only refreshments are going to be crackers and 7Up."

"That's fine. I am happy with that as long as I can see you."

"I am going to warn you - I am NOT very good company."

"I'm good with that too."

She sighed. "I've been in and out of the bathroom all day," she said, trying to turn him off. "I didn't think I had that much in my stomach to throw up."

"Poor baby," he cooed softly. "I'll just have to tuck you up and make you feel better, then..."

"I don't deserve to feel better. I'm pretty sure this is destined to be my fate."

"Penelope, come on - stop being so negative."

"I haven't been able to keep a proper meal down in almost a week," she snapped. "Don't tell me to stop being negative - I'm miserable, Derek."

"Well, then, I'm just going to make you stop being miserable, then. Who else is sick?"

"A bunch of the techs -"

"The techs usually get food from that Chinese place on the corner, right?"

"Yeah..."

"It got closed for Health Department violations," he said pointedly. "Did you eat with them or -"

"No - I get my Chinese from Silk Road," she said. "They don't mix chicken broth in everything, so - this isn't a stomach bug?"

"Nope, bad food isn't a bug."

"There must be something going around. The tech pool is worse than daycare: if one gets sick, we all get sick. We share keyboards, ergo we share germs."

"I'll be right over - I want to see you."

She sighed: he just wasn't going to let it go. "Fine," she muttered. "I'm in my office. I'll be here for another half an hour, finishing up, and then I'm going home."

"Okay," Derek said. "I'll meet you there with crackers and soda. What do you want to watch?"

He wasn't supposed to want to comfort her when she was sick; Kevin hadn't even done that - he'd run for the hills, screaming about germs and snotty tissues. "I... " She thought for a moment, then said, "Sabrina - not the one with Harrison Ford, the one with Audrey Hepburn."

"I'll grab it on the way. Do you have a brand preference for crackers or soda?"

"Whatever is easiest,really - I'm not fussy."

"Alright baby girl - I will see you soon."

She was less than enthusiastic.

XXXX

He was waiting for her when she got home - a pot of soup was already simmering on the stove and she was relieved that there was no meaty smell in the apartment, so he'd grabbed vegetable broth. But he was nowhere to be found.

She threw her purse onto the coffee table and collapsed on the couch, feeling nauseated, miserable, and wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of her apartment just as soon as she'd entered it.

"Hey, baby," he said, coming out of the bathroom.

"Hey," she said weakly.

He hugged her gently and kissed the top of her head. "I missed you," he murmured.

"I don't know why. I am poor company."

"Let me decide. I made soup - interested?"

"I will stick to crackers - thanks."

"Well, it is vegetarian, I remembered."

"Thanks - maybe later."

"Baby, you need to eat something," he said softly.

"Being sick is good for fat girls," she muttered. "It's about the only way to lose weight without effort."

"You aren't fat." His voice was so full of conviction, she almost believed him for a second.

"Let's just watch the movie," she mumbled.

They watched the movie, his arms around her comfortingly through most of it. They paused when necessary for her to run to the bathroom and be sick - even the crackers weren't staying down now. She was not exactly in the best shape to be anyone's company, but Derek wasn't complaining. In fact, he was holding back her hair and whispering that it would be okay.

Everything would be okay if she just trusted enough in his love to give everything to him - but she couldn't trust it. If anything had proven just how transitory love was, it was her track record at relationships.

"When was the last time you had a meal, baby?" he asked stroking her hair.

"A week or two - crackers and 7-up it has been for more than a week."

"Penelope - you can't starve yourself. Why haven't you gone to a doctor?"

"Because it's just a stomach bug," she muttered. "And that last case was a doozy - I couldn't get away from the office if I tried."

"Maybe you should go to the clinic tomorrow?" he suggested gently. "They should at least be able to give you an antibiotic if it's bacterial."

She went to stand up and fell back down. "Know what - I am taking you in now!"

"Derek I'm fine - really."

"I am not taking no for an answer."

"Then get out," she snapped. "I'm fine - this is nothing I haven't dealt with before. I'm sick, not incapable of making decisions about my own health. Could you please just respect that?"

"Did Kevin ignore you when you were sick?" Derek asked.

"Yes - as a matter of fact, he did," she said pointedly.

He scowled. "I should find him and smack him."

"Derek, stop it. I'm going to bed and everything will be better in the morning," she said quietly. "If it's not, then you can worry."

"Then I am staying. I don't want to come back and find you passed out or dead."

"I think you are overreacting - "

"Maybe, maybe not, but I am staying."

She didn't protest anymore; she knew it was futile. He took her silence as acquiescence, and took care of her till her nausea finally tapered off around three in the morning. Then he held her till she fell asleep.

And she was fine in the morning - just like she'd been for the previous week.

She walked into the kitchen without disturbing him from his sleep and got herself a bowl of the cold vegetable soup he'd made. She ate it all, then went back for seconds before he woke up. "Baby Girl," he mumbled from the doorway.

"See?" she said, holding up the soup. "All better now."

"I thought you said this had been going on for weeks?" he asked confused.

"It has, yes. But I'm fine in the morning, so now let me be - I am eating."

"Baby, did you stop and think that it could be more serious than you thought -"

"Derek, shut up," she said. "I'm eating, I'm not throwing up..."

"When was the last time you had your period?" he asked suddenly.

Well, that was just a bucket of ice cold water straight to the face. She immediately went to the calendar on the wall and flipped back a month - then two. "Oh. Son of a motherfucker," she exhaled.

"Penelope - can you please talk to me."

"I - I can't."

"Penelope, please answer my question."

"Two months ago - are you happy?"

"Please answer me this - were you with anyone besides me?"

"Why would you ask that - I don't even really remember being with you."

"I just wanted to know."

"Well you know the answer!"

"I think we may require a trip to the pharmacy."

"I can't be pregnant," she began to say to herself. "I can't just be pregnant - I always take my pill, I don't want to have a baby with someone who doesn't love me..." She was in tears in a heartbeat and Derek pulled her into his arms. "No, no, no - I can't have a baby. I don't deserve it."

"Penelope," he whispered. "I love you, silly girl - and you do deserve it. You deserve someone who loves you unconditionally from the start. Someone who isn't selfish like I am."

"Oh, Derek - you deserve someone far better than me. I am trash, I don't deserve good things. You are not selfish. I try to push you away and you go nowhere - you are a wee bit stupid, but not selfish."

"Will you pacify me and take a test if I go get one?"

"I'm not pregnant - I can't be."

"Then take a test and we will both just drop it and move on."

"Fine, then will you leave me alone?"

"If that's your wish."

Derek ran to the pharmacy and picked up one of every pregnancy test and took it to ring in. He returned home with his purchases.

She was sitting on the couch, head in her hands, shoulders shaking as she cried. He dropped the bag and ran over to hug her. "Baby -"

"I know you love me," she blubbered. "I just don't want you to love me because you have to - because I'm pregnant. I want you to love me because you love me - and I don't want you to go away and find someone else."

"Baby Girl - sweetheart," he murmured, "I'm not going anywhere because all I want is you. I've said that how many times now and you still don't believe me."

"I don't deserve love, you deserve so much better than me."

He took her hand and pulled her to her feet, "Come on, let's do this, okay?"

She nodded and followed him to the bathroom.

He handed her the bag and she gaped at him. "Did you buy them out of tests, handsome?" she spluttered.

"I figured we should know for sure -"

"We only needed one, maybe two - not fifteen."

"Humor me: I've never done this before," he admitted.

She looked through the bag and grabbed three and sat them on the counter, "Can you go out for a few minutes?"

He nodded and left standing just outside the door.

"You ok in there?"

"I'm fine - almost done."

"And then what?"

"We wait," she said, opening the bathroom door and sighing. "If I am - I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not ready for this - I always thought I'd be married before now, and that I'd be having a family with someone I love. Not... pregnant and hurting."

"If you are, I will not look away from my responsibilities; it's not my style."

"I'm not making you do anything - I just don't know if I am ready for that."

He pulled her into his arms, tight against his chest, trying to shield her from the evils of the world. "I know you don't believe me and I know you think I'm going to leave at the earliest chance, but it's not going to happen, Penelope," Derek whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I love you and I'm not going anywhere, no matter what you do or what you say. You're the only woman I've sat through this with - and for - because you're the only one who matters to me. I want those tests to be positive - because you would be a wonderful mother and I want you to be happy."

"I don't want to saddle a baby with me for a mother, I can't even look after myself."

"How long has it been?" he asked.

"About ten minutes."

"Is that time?"

She nodded, "You do it, I can't."

He went into the bathroom, looked at the three tests and exhaled. If he told her the truth, she would be upset because she was pregnant - if he lied, she would be upset because she wasn't worthy of carrying a baby, and so on. It was a no-win situation.

He walked out with as solemn of an expression as he could.

"So, what's the verdict?" she muttered.

He just passed her the three tests and sat beside her, "See for yourself."

It took a minute, but then she said, "Well, I guess I need to get in to see the doctor, then."

"Baby Girl..."

"I can't believe I'm such a fuck-up," she muttered. "I can't please Kevin because I don't love him; I love Lola and I can't please her either - then I fuck you in a drunken haze that I can't even remember and, whoops, I'm fucking pregnant."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, this is just as much my fault as yours."

"You aren't a complete and other fuck up."

"And neither are you - everything happens for a reason."

"Yeah - to prove I am a complete fuck up."

"Penelope -"

"Don't worry, I'm going to get it taken care of," she said, her voice suddenly raspy and hoarse. "Just a little time with the doctor and everything will be fine again -"

"No!" His heart hurt at the very thought that she might be seriously trying to get rid of their child just like that. She stared at him for the longest time before he spoke again. "No, don't even joke about having an abortion, Baby Girl, and please don't ever be serious," he whispered. "That's my baby in there - yours and mine."

"This kids deserves a better fate than me for a mother," she sobbed.

"You will be fine and I will be right there with you, I promise."

"It is my choice, my body."

"Maybe so," he said, "but can you at least stop and listen to me before you just - before you just waltz in there and get it 'taken care of'?" He took her hand in his and whispered, "I don't really know when I fell in love with you - only that it happened. And I don't want you to think that I'm saying this because we slept together and you're pregnant, because it's just not true."

"I don't expect you to step up, we were both drunk, it shouldn't have happened."

"Just because it shouldn't have happened doesn't mean I regret it. I'm getting older, it's now or never really and momma keeps bugging me for grandbabies."

"I don't want to be your regret," she whispered. "Ever."

"I don't regret anything but not telling you how much I love you," he said softly.

"Do you seriously want to do this? You can't be serious - "

"I am - dead serious."

"We know nothing about babies..."

"We will learn..."

"Derek - "

"Stop pushing me away," he insisted very softly. "You've done that since the beginning."

"Because I don't want to be hurt again -"

"I love you." The words were simple and so full of meaning, of what made him so him that she finally let her wall down; just for a moment, she saw everything he'd been trying to tell her.

"Derek - "

He pulled her into a hug, "Come here. It's you and me kid - now and forever."

"This poor child," she sobbed.

"It will be fine."

"Derek..."

"Are you going to be a hard-head?" he asked. "Or are you actually going to listen to me?"

"I'm... I'm going to listen," she exhaled.

"You need a doctor appointment - I'll go with you if you want."

She nodded.

"We will do this together."

"Oh, god, I hope so," she said, her voice faltering. "I can't do it alone, Derek."

"Sweet thing," he whispered, "I thought you said you were going to listen to me. I'm not leaving you because you're the best damn thing to ever happen to my life."

She wanted so much to believe him but there was that nagging feeling that the bottom was going to fall out of the bucket.

She nuzzled into his chest.

"Can I show you?" he asked. "I know you don't believe my words, but can I show you just how much I love you, Baby Girl?"

She listened to his heart beating and whispered, "You can try..."

He tipped her head and kissed her, softly at first, then deepening the kiss. "I love you - so much."

She slowly began kissing him back.

"Hey," he breathed through the kisses, "there's my sassy Mama..." He wasn't going to lie to her: he had been drunk when they'd had sex before, but he'd been haunted by flashing memories of how good it felt to kiss her - and it was god's own truth that she was fucking perfect as he remembered.

She was regaining her faith, slow and sure.

"I will show you how much I love you every day for the rest of my life."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she whispered.

"I intend to keep this one - screw the others," he growled. "This is the only one that matters, Baby Girl. I will show you how much I love you and how happy we should be."

"We don't know the first thing about a baby."

"We can learn, I know we are not the first to have a baby unplanned."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"_VERY_!"

She bit her lip and whispered, "You love me like a best friend -"

"No, damn it, I love you like I've never fucking loved another human being in my life," he said forcefully. "I would give you a ring and run you off to Vegas in a heartbeat if I thought that you'd accept it - all I want is to wake up with you in the morning and to go to bed with you every night. And to be your friend, your best friend, your lover, your husband - all of it."

"You are delusional - Derek."

"No I am not, I am realistic."

"You are silly - you don't want all that with me. Why not someone else, someone more suited for you."

"There is no one better suited to me than you are," he whispered. "You make me happy when I feel like hurting the world because it hurts me. You make me smile when I know I shouldn't. You are the reason I stopped going to the clubs and the bars - I don't want anyone but you, Penelope. Lola had it right - I will crush anyone that hurts my Baby Girl." His hand slipped to her belly and rested there, hot and undemanding. "And her baby girl."

"What if it's a boy?"

He smiled and his whole face lit up. "Then we'll just have to try again."

"Wow, putting the cart before the horse?"

"Why stop at one?" he laughed.

"Cause we suck - well, I suck."

"No," he said softly. "You do not. And, you know what's sad? I said I'll crush anyone who hurts my Baby Girl - but I can't crush you. I wouldn't want to. But I do want to shake some sense into you today."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Derek, you can't expect me to just -"

"I expect you to love me," he said. "Just love me like you loved the others - even just for a few minutes, okay? Show me what it's like to be Penelope Garcia's lover."

She curled in close to him, "Never leave me; promise me that."

"I promise, now stop being so foolish, okay."

She looked up at him, his beauty, his serenity overwhelming her. "I do love you," she whispered. "So much - so much it hurts."

"Then let me take care of you - be here for you...ok?"

She nodded.

"Now let's go cuddle and watch a movie, you up for that?"

"I thought you said you were going to show me how much you love me," she teased.

"I'm not going to push you."

"Okay," she murmured. "I do love you, you know -"

"I know," he whispered. "Movie and cuddle."

"Yeah," she agreed.

**End Part Seven**


	8. Chapter 8

**Part Eight**

Actually watching the movie only lasted about twenty minutes - then she was all over him like a wildfire on prairie grass. She couldn't help it: he smelled so damn good and he was so warm and so... so... so Derek.

He could see the fire in her eyes, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Make love to me," she breathed, "make me feel loved - "

He sighed. "Baby, I shouldn't have to make you feel anything - you should always feel loved. Because I've never stopped loving you from the moment I called you 'Gomez' and you turned around and smiled at me."

"My uber handsome chocolate God," she grinned.

He took her by the hand, "Let's go to bed."

"Long as you don't plan to sleep - yet."

"Hell no," he growled, pulling her into her bedroom and taking his time with the buttons on her dress. "I don't remember much about before - but I remember it being amazing."

"Hmm?"

"You make me feel powerful, heroic," he tried to explain. "And like sex with you is the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life - and I don't remember much but how you moved with me."

"That's more than I remember," she pouted.

"You will remember this time - every glorious detail."

"I will," she agreed, moaning softly when he nuzzled her breasts as her dress fell open. He smiled and sucked at her nipples through the fabric of her bra - making her whimper and groan. "Why're you stopping?" she exhaled.

"To get you naked, silly."

"Let me help -" she said dropping her panties to the floor. "What about you?"

He undid his shirt and pants and both dropped to the floor. He was left in his underwear. "Let me..."

She licked her lips and exhaled a low whistle. "How come I don't remember that?" she whined, smirking a little when her tone and flattery made him rise ever more to the occasion. "Your dick is my new best friend, Handsome -"

"Woman, as long as you don't have long conversations about your feelings with my penis, it's all good," he said firmly.

"I don't want to talk to it." she laughed. "I want to worship it."

She leaned down and lightly licked the tip. He inhaled sharply, then groaned, feeling the fissures of pleasure start in his spine and work toward his groin. "Woman, this is about you - not me," he growled.

"I like giving," she said.

"Tough titties," he said. "I'm supposed to make you feel loved, remember?"

"Oh, I do feel loved - I want to love your member, then you can reciprocate."

"This is not about me, it's about you."

"I love giving head," she said. "I'd be surprised if I didn't do that when we were fucking -"

"Penelope -"

She smiled. "I'm already pregnant - there's not much more trouble I can get into."

"I want to make you feel loved."

"I L-O-V-E doing this, does that count?"

He picked her up, effortlessly - which startled her - and dropped her onto the bed. "Woman, do not push me right now," he growled.

She squealed and scrambled up on the bed away from him, but he pursued her and caught her for a wild kiss that left her wondering just how the hell he was going to top that... Then, he dipped his head and started terrorizing her breasts.

"That feels good, not normal good either - it feels better, if that makes sense..."

"I don't know woman, but you talk too damn much," he laughed.

"You wouldn't love me if I didn't," she purred, whimpering as he kissed down her body, over her belly, lower, ever lower - till he was nestled between her legs, feasting on her like she was his last meal. Heat slithered through her body like a serpent's tempting kiss, and she moaned, groaned, cried aloud when necessary - all because of him.

She did feel loved.

"Wow - that feels so - so - good," she moaned.

He just kept on with his ministrations. He began to lightly nibble on her clit and she just about bucked off the bed.

"Derek!" she shrieked.

He chuckled, the warm sound vibrating through her, meeting up with the heat and the passion and knocking her for a loop. This man really did love her - he loved her in a way that Kevin and Lola couldn't even touch. He knew her, really knew her, like the back of his hand. And he knew how to bring her to the very brink without any effort at all.

He rose from between her legs and crawled up the length of her body like a cat. He kissed her passionately, her tasting herself in the kisses.

"Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"You sure?" he asked. "Because there's no turning back once I get going, Penelope -"

"Positive," she breathed, looping her arms around his neck and smiling. "I'm right where I want to be, handsome."

Lining himself he plunged himself inside her, starting off slow then quickening the pace. He switched his angle and then there was no holds barred.

She was wriggling and twisting on the bed. He lifted her legs and she locked her ankles around behind his hips, lifting to meet his thrusts with a wild savagery he finally, _finally_ remembered. This was home - she was home, she was his everything.

He collapsed on the bed beside her, slowly trying to catch his breath.

"This is where I want to be - do you see that now?"

She nodded, unable to speak.

"I should never have pushed you away," he said softly. "I should never have pushed you into dating Lynch - or Lola. I should've just been a man and told you how I felt."

She shook her head and whispered, "I needed to be with them - to appreciate you."

_Serious? Did she just compliment me?_

He grinned. "I quite enjoyed myself, baby girl."

"It was fucking amazing..." she breathed, "I'm sorry I missed it the first time."

"Me too."

"We'll have to keep repeating the experience to make sure we get it right, don't we?" she said, both innocent and suggestive at once.

"We got it right."

"Are you sure?"

"We got a baby on the first try, I'd say that we did something right."

"Or so completely wrong," she added.

"Nothing wrong about it. I can't wait for little blonde haired babies running around."

"Babies?" she said, eyes widening. "Oh, please don't curse me into having twins. Or more -"

He chuckled and kissed her, pulling her onto his chest like he was her favorite pillow. "I love you, silly girl."

"Can we get through one before we decide we need more?"

"I guess, but we shouldn't waste time, my momma is getting up there in years."

She pouted. "Can we keep this to ourselves for a while?" she asked softly. "So I can get used to it? Having a baby and having a boyfriend are at totally opposite sides of the spectrum."

"Are they?" he asked.

"Yes, to me - they are."

"What about a husband: where would that fit in the spectrum?"

"What?"

"Well, it's all kinda backwards, what do you say?"

"You're asking me to marry you?" she asked, blinking up at him in shock.

"I'm asking you to share your life with me," he said softly. "Marriage is just one way to do that - and it would be better for the baby."

"So you're asking me to marry you."

"I'm asking you to marry me," he confirmed in that tender voice that meant business. "I'm asking you to be my wife, the mother of my children - because, yes, one is good but five is better - and the only woman I ever come home to."

"Five children? are you crazy handsome?"

"Would you prefer ten?"

"Um wow - where is this coming from?"

"So what's your answer?"

"I don't get a chance to think about it?"

"What's there to think about?" he asked. "Fantastic sex every day of your life, a big house full of mini versions of us, and knowing that you're loved every fucking day."

"Yesterday I was alone and sick and today I am pregnant and now you want to marry me too. It's a lot to take in."

"Penelope, what's to decide? Don't I make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the issue?"

"What happens when you find someone else?" she asked, her voice tiny.

"Never gonna happen. I've got my perfect match."

"I'm Mrs right now, not Mrs long term."

"Dammit Penelope, I only want you, so yes or no?"

"What if I say no?"

"Then I'll wait till tomorrow and ask again - and I'll keep asking till you say yes," he said, looking at her like a puppy dog.

She sighed. "Derek -"

"Penelope, I swear to god, I haven't looked at another woman in months," he said earnestly. "I've been choking the chicken and thinking about you. I've been rubbing myself practically raw because all I wanted was you - and now that I have you, you're crazy if you think I'm just going to let you walk away."

She laughed. "That is a sad, sad picture handsome."

"So say yes then."

"Fine, yes - do we have to do it right away?"

"No," he replied with a smile. "But you do have to move in with me."

"Not till we know for sure that this is going to work," she said softly. "I don't want to have to just move back out again."

"Then I'll move in here," he said.

"No pets," she reminded him.

"Well - then -"

She looked at his face and sighed. "Okay, fine - I'll move in with you."

"Great - my momma's coming to visit in a couple of weeks, so -"

"Oh, no," Penelope groaned, facepalming. "Your mother is going to hate me."

"My mother will love you."

"I doubt it."

"My mother has listened to me going on and on about you for years, she already likes you and the fact that you are now the housing for her first grandbaby from me makes you all the more special."

"But I was stupid and -"

"Baby Girl, you listen to me - you are not stupid. You think with your heart, and I love that about you, so very much." He kissed her forehead. "I want you to stop beating yourself up about things that have happened in the past and look ahead to the future, okay?"

"It's hard - I am so scared to repeat all over again all the mistakes I have made."

"We will get through it, okay?"

"You promise?" she whispered. He nodded and held her closer.

**End Part Eight**


	9. Chapter 9

**Part Nine**

She woke up in the middle of the night, sick as a dog. She pushed out of bed and ran for the bathroom, but didn't make it in time. Derek caught up with her in the living room, just outside the bathroom, heaving onto the carpet.

He helped her up. "Here, let me clean that." he pulled her to her feet, "You need anything?"

"I'll be better in the morning. Why do they call this morning sickness exactly?"

"I... have no idea," he admitted. "Do you want some help?"

"Just let me sit in the bathroom," she mumbled. She opened the cabinet and gestured to a 2 liter bottle of generic lemon-lime soda and a box of crackers. "I'll be okay."

"I'll sit with you - it's the least I can do."

"Not necessary."

"Yes it is. I'm not taking no for an answer."

She acquiesced to his demand and let him hold her as she roiled from the nausea. "This baby better damn well be worth this hassle," she mumbled at one point. He just chuckled and held her tighter.

Once she fell asleep, he carried her back to bed and held her till the alarm went off.

XXXX

"Greetings, superheroes," Penelope said cheerfully down the video feed. "I hear that there's a nasty baddie down in Texas, so you'd better keep your guns close and your tacos closer."

"Very funny," Hotch said. "Do you have anything useful?"

"Only what I've sent to your tablets."

Derek glanced up from his. "Mama, I think you sent me the wrong file," he said mildly.

"Oh, no, you've got the right file," she said with twinkling eyes. "But I'll send it again to make sure."

He stared down at the picture of his baby, growing away inside his favorite girl, and he smiled at her shakily. "Yeah, got the right one this time," he said, covering as the correct case file arrived. "Thanks, Garcia."

"You are more than welcome, handsome."

"Any new news on it?" he asked, speaking in code.

"They figure maybe next time."

"I will talk to you later, Baby."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you two should just stop trying to cover things up," she said. "We know you aren't talking about the case."

"Planning a surprise party for Derek's mom," Penelope said cheerfully. "And I'm waiting for a batch of cupcakes to get just perfect in the rum to coconut ratio before I buy the bakery out."

"Oooh, coconut rum cupcakes?" JJ squealed. "Am I invited to this party?"

"Not exactly," Derek interjected. "Mom is not a fan of strangers."

"Can you at least make me some of those cupcakes."

"I will see what I can do." Penelope added.

"Isn't your mom coming into town tomorrow?" Reid inquired.

"Yeah, so we better wrap this case up in a hurry," Derek commented wryly. "Momma and Penelope might kill each other in a cage match."

Penelope giggled. "Yeah, I don't think so, Handsome - but you never know."

"Well, you can finish packing that stuff you wanted to store at my place and bring it over when you pick Momma up," Derek said pointedly.

She smiled. "Farewell, my superheroes - till we meet again."

"What is she storing at your place?" Reid asked.

"Extra stuff she doesn't use, her place is being painted."

"Oh," Reid said ending the conversation.

They went back to work, developing an early profile, but JJ caught him studying his tablet and smiling. "What's got you in such a good mood?" she asked, snatching the tablet out of his hands. "OH! Someone's having a baby?"

"My sister," he lied smoothly. "That's the first picture of my new niece or nephew."

"Can we see?"

"No, Sarah wouldn't like me to show everyone; she is a private person."

"Well congrats anyway," they said.

XXXX

The next day, he got a picture message from Penelope with a photo of her and his mom posing in front of Penelope's favorite food truck, a veggie sandwich in Penelope's hands and a gyro in his mother's - and a caption of, "Don't worry about us, Hot Stuff. We get along like meat & potatoes."

He text back, x_I thought you were a vegetarian?_x

x_Apparently Jr here is rather fond of meat, but I am still resisting the urge._x

x_How is my momma?_x

x_Wonderful. Hurry home._x

He sighed and pocketed his phone. "Okay, we've got to be missing something -"

"We're missing a lot of things," Rossi commented dryly. "But we aren't missing the fact that you check your phone more times than I do - and I have a girlfriend."

Derek cleared his throat. "I meant work."

"I know," Rossi said pointedly. "And you haven't heard from Garcia all day today."

"Because she's picking up my Momma at the airport and -" He paused and glanced around the conference room. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Derek, I have been a profiler for quite some time."

"So."

"You are hiding something; now spill."

"Garcia is pregnant," Reid spoke up from the whiteboard, where he was looking at the progression map. "It's the only conclusion that fits the parameters of the equation at hand. And with the way you worry, it has to be yours. Thus -"

"Okay, fine," Derek ground out through clenched teeth. "Penelope and I have been seeing each other. She's moving in with me while we're on this case."

"And she's pregnant?" JJ said.

"Reid is just running his mouth," Derek muttered. "I've told you all there is to tell."

"Derek, you can't lie to a room of profilers. You should know that by now."

"There is nothing to tell, now back off."

"Derek - "

"I said back off, okay?"

"Okay," Emily said, raising her hands in surrender. "You'll tell us eventually, right? And we'll pretend to be surprised."

Derek just glared at them.

**End Part Nine**


	10. Chapter 10

**Part Ten**

Penelope got up in the middle of the night with the usual nausea, coping as best she could. She'd finally taken to eating candied ginger before she went to bed and then a few more pieces when she got up with the inevitable barfing somewhere between three and four in the morning. Thus, she could function without Derek's intervention.

She grabbed her handful of ginger bits and settled back into bed, turning on the TV. She was tired of the same reruns being on all the time when she had time to watch TV. She was also tired of watching the news because it was hardly ever good - it didn't make her feel very happy about bringing a baby into the world.

She was just about to click off of CNN when she saw footage of an explosion in Midland, Texas - where the team was. Her heart flew into her throat when she saw the FBI vests scattered around the scene, and she felt the nausea rising up again fast and furious when she saw several people leaving by ambulance with severe wounds. She grabbed her phone and rang Hotch, but there was no answer. Next was Rossi - same result.

Now, she was panicking; her heart was beating out of control, her stomach was roiling, turning over and over again like she was going to be sick. And finally, she got someone on the line. "Jay-ge, oh my god, what happened?" she sobbed. "I saw the news - they've got video of it everywhere - what happened?"

"Unsub had a bomb on him and it went off." JJ said as calmly as she could.

"Derek?"

"He's gone to the hospital in an ambulance."

"Is he...is he okay?"

"We won't know until he gets assessed."

"Jay-ge, I'm pregnant - I can't lose him."

"They will do their best."

Penelope sobbed on the other end.

"Penelope, listen to me," JJ said firmly. "You stay put - you and Derek's mom are both on the emergency contact list, so you're going to get a call any time now, and so will she. And they will tell you if you need to get here as soon as possible or if he's going to be okay. All right?"

"No, it's not all right," Penelope wailed. "I can't lose him - he promised..."

"What did he promise?" JJ asked, her voice softening.

"Not to leave me," Penelope sobbed brokenly. "He promised never to leave me - "

"Just calm down, you don't need to stress yourself out."

"Calm down - CALM DOWN - how am I supposed to calm down?"

"Just breathe, you get stressed out it can hurt both you and the baby."

There came a knock on her door and Penelope got up to see Fran, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Fran -"

"I just got off the phone with someone from a hospital in Texas and -"

"Oh god," Penelope exhaled. "I'm on with JJ now -"

"Derek was injured," Fran said. "We need to get down there."

Penelope hesitated. "Is it that bad?"

"No, sweetie," Fran murmured, "but he's demanding to see both of us as soon as we can get there. His wounds are supposedly superficial, except for a piece of shrapnel that's lodged in his spine - but he wants us there before they do surgery."

"I'll get a flight booked," Penelope mumbled.

"Call the Director," JJ said. "There's an FBI jet especially for scenarios like these."

"There is?" she asked.

"Yes! Now call and get here quickly."

After getting off the phone with the director, they only had thirty minutes to get to the tarmac. Penelope grabbed her go bag and Fran her suitcase and off they went.

Penelope spent a large chunk of the flight pacing in the cabin - against all of Fran's motherly logic that she should be sitting down and relaxing. "I'm scared," Penelope admitted, finally. "Well and truly terrified."

"If he's asking for us before surgery, he's being damn stubborn," Fran commented. "So I think we should just relax and be calm when we get there."

"I'm pregnant," Penelope finally told her. "I can't do this alone - he promised he would never leave me."

"He's not going to leave," Fran said gently. "Derek would never leave his commitments, even after all these years he still helps the kids in the old neighborhood."

"I am not doubting his promises, I am doubting his survival. I can't lose him - I can't."

"Penelope - "

"Yes?"

"Did you just tell me you are pregnant?"

She nodded.

"Come and sit," Fran said in a tone that booked no argument. When Penelope did just that, Fran put her arm around her shoulders. "He called for us because he's worried about how you're going to take him being in the hospital - I don't think he's worried about himself or his condition because he's scared of you being upset."

"He's stupid for getting himself into these situations," Pen whispered.

"Oh, I'm not saying that he's _not_ stupid," Fran commented. "I'm just saying that he's probably going to be just fine."

"When he comes out of surgery, I am going to beat him senseless."

"I am sure he will figure he deserves it," she laughed. "I'm happy, Penelope, you know that, right?"

She nodded.

"It's about time Derek settled down."

"It's my fault we weren't settled sooner," Penelope admitted quietly. She leaned into Fran's comforting embrace and poured her heart and soul out - only stopping because the plane landed and they were ushered into a waiting FBI-issued SUV.

JJ met them at the hospital and said, "Hotch and Rossi are okay - minor injuries. But Derek was up close and personal with the bomb; he was trying to get away when it went off. It's been three hours since we called you guys and he's still refusing surgery till he talks to you."

"Stubborn ass," Penelope muttered, walking up to the counter. "We're here for SSA Derek Morgan - this is Frances Morgan, his mother, and I'm Penelope Garcia, his emergency contact."

She couldn't bring herself to say fiancee if she was going to lose him.

"He has been asking for you." The nurse said. "Miss Garcia, he wants you first."

She nodded and followed the nurse into his room.

He was lying flat on his stomach, a wicked-looking piece of metal sticking out of his back. His eyes were closed and she could tell he was struggling with the pain by the way his muscles were ticking. "Hey, handsome," she murmured, taking a less than confident step toward him.

His eyes snapped open and he stared at her. "Baby -"

"Shh, it's okay - your momma and I are here now," she soothed.

"I needed to see you."

"You need to come home safe." she retorted, "you promised me."

"I just needed to see you before I went into surgery - in case."

"Derek - DO NOT GO THERE."

"Penelope - "

"Don't Penelope me, have the surgery and get your ass home safe and sound."

"Baby, you take care of our peanut - no matter what happens," he said firmly.

"I will always take care of Jr.," she murmured. "You just get in there and get that thing out of your back, you hear me?"

"I hear you," he acknowledged tiredly. "Loud and clear. Where is Momma?"

"In the hall, I'll send her in and then you are going into surgery, right?"

"Yes." he huffed.

Penelope walked out and Fran walked in.

"Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?"

"Momma, this is not the time."

"Are you sure about that?" Fran asked. "She's scared to death that something is going to go wrong and she's going to lose you - and you've just about handed that to her on a platter, Derek."

"Momma, shut up and listen to me," Derek grunted. "They aren't sure that there isn't going to be some spinal cord damage when they pull the thing out. I... I don't want you to tell Penelope how bad it really is, okay? I needed to see her and know that she's still hanging in there before I let them do it - "

"Derek, I don't think it is right that you are keeping things from her."

"I can't upset her any more than she already is."

"As soon as you are out of surgery, you need to discuss this with her."

He nodded, "Now go comfort my fiancee, please, mom."

XXXX

She knew it was incredibly bad for the baby, but that didn't keep Penelope from nervously drinking an entire pot of coffee by herself as they waited for news. JJ gave her a frustrated look every time she got up for another cup, but didn't actually say a word. Reid and Emily flittered between Hotch's room, Rossi's room, and the waiting room, and Reid finally said, "You do know that drinking caffeinated beverages is bad when you're pregnant, right?"

Penelope hesitated for a second, then said, "I'm not -"

"Derek told me in the ambulance," Reid said.

"Oh."

"And Reid told me," Emily said. "But we all kind of already knew."

"Fucking profilers," she mumbled

"We are here for you, he is going to be fine, Derek is a fighter, he is not going to let you down."

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Morgan," Reid commented. "I just wish it wasn't under these circumstances -"

"So, how about that party with the rum cupcakes, then?" Emily said pointedly, looking at Penelope. "We can celebrate Derek being okay."

Penelope laughed. "You know that was a lie, right? There are no cupcakes -"

"Oh, you'd better come up with some cupcakes," JJ said. "Or I will be pretty pissed."

"I'll make them rum flavored." Penelope laughed.

"After this case we could all lose a distraction." Emily admitted. "So PG, when is Jr Morgan due?"

"Not sure yet." she admitted.

"The doctor can usually tell," JJ said.

"Ah, well... there's the rub," Penelope said. "We're about 9 weeks along, give or take a week or so - did you know that sperm can stay viable in the reproductive tract for up to 10 days?"

"Yes," Reid said, cringing a little.

"Okay, so... what's the problem in determining a due date?" JJ asked.

"They can't tell if it's spot on 9 weeks or 8 weeks or 10 weeks," Fran said. "It's too early to make that determination - so her ballpark due date would be somewhere in January."

"A winter baby, it is better than being a humongous house in the middle of summer; that is no fun."

"I can only imagine how not fun this is going to be," Penelope sighed.

"Once you get that baby in your arms you will forget everything before it." JJ added.

Penelope nodded and closed her eyes, trying not to think about Derek in surgery - but she couldn't help it. The nausea rose up in waves and it was all she could do to find the nearest trash can before she threw up.

"Hey, hey," Emily said, coming over and rubbing her back - seeing as how she was the closest to that corner of the room. "You okay?"

"No," Penelope heaved out. "I'm not okay."

"Can I get you something?" Reid asked.

"Crackers and lemon lime soda soda, please," she begged, retching into the garbage can.  
Time passed and the doctor came out to talk to them.

"Derek Morgan?" he said, flipping through the chart.

"Yes," Penelope said, stepping forward with her box of crackers and bottle of soda in hand before anyone could stop her. "How is he?"

"The easy answer to that is that we removed the shrapnel from his spinal column," the doctor said. "It was lodged in the cartilage, so there was no spinal cord damage that we can tell - however, it did do serious damage to said cartilage and there is a possibility that one or more of his discs will need surgery in the future. For right now, however, he should be up and around in a couple of days."

You could hear the breath that Penelope let out. "When can I see him?"

"He is in recovery, will be about an hour or so and only one at a time."

"You should go first," Penelope said to Fran. "You're his mom."

"You're his girlfriend," Fran said gently. "He's more worried about you than he is about himself, Penelope. He's worried about you and the baby - so you need to be in there."

"Maybe, while we're waiting, you should go see Hotch and Rossi," JJ suggested.

**End Part Ten**


	11. Chapter 11

**Part Eleven**

She took another deep breath and walked in the door. He was hooked up to machines and appeared to be still sleeping. She went over, sat down her box and bottle and took his hand and held it.

He responded by curling his fingers around hers and mumbling, "Don't make me roll onto my back - it hurts like a son of a bitch."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Hot Stuff," she murmured. "You okay?"

"Better."

"They said you should be ok."

"Should - what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You may end up with cartilage damage later in life."

He sighed.

"At least you are okay; they said you should be able to come home in a few days."

"Good," he said, blinking up at her. "You don't look so hot, Baby -"

"I've been sick for about the last five hours or so," she murmured. "Don't worry about me - Junior, here, is having some issues because Mama was a little upset."

"I told you not to worry."

"Well, let me get hurt and you not worry!"

"Impossible."

"Exactly! They said only one visitor at a time and everyone is waiting to see you."

"Don't go yet - please."

"Derek, it's not fair for me to hog all your visiting time -"

"Yes, it is," he contradicted. "It's very fair - I'm going to marry you, Penelope Garcia. It's incredibly fair."

"Derek, your mom needs to see you, too."

"My mother has seen me in worse shape than this. She will be fine, it's you I am worried about."

"I'm fine - I promise," she said as she was warding off another wave of nausea.

"You don't look fine."

"Hot Stuff, stop fighting with me," she said, taking a deep breath to try and calm her stomach.

"Go get me the doc," he said to her.

"Why? Are you feeling ok?"

"I just want to talk to the doctor."

She sighed. "Okay," she agreed, carrying her arsenal of morning sickness gear with her. She'd barely made it into the corridor when she couldn't hold it back anymore. An orderly was with her in seconds, helping steady her and clean her up. "My - Derek - Derek Morgan needs to see the doctor," she exhaled when her stomach finally settled.

The orderly gave her a look. "Ma'am, I'd say you're the one that needs to see a doctor right now."

"No really, I am fine, just morning sickness."

"Have you been seen by a doctor for prenatal care?"

She nodded, "Yes."

The orderly looked doubtful. "Will you be okay to get back to the waiting room or should I get a chair and a trash can?" he asked.

"Chair and trash can," Penelope mumbled sheepishly. "I've been pretty sick most of the morning. Ironic, that - I'm usually sick in the middle of the night."

"Okay, just wait here," he said, running off to retrieve a chair and a small trash can. "I'll get Dr. Jones for Mr. Morgan."

"Thank you," Penelope said weakly.

She saw the doctor enter Derek's room. She sat with her head in the can. The doctor came out and approached Penelope.

"We're gonna run a couple of tests on you, he tells us you are expecting?"

She nodded, "What type of tests?"

"An ultrasound and some blood work, just to make sure all is well."

"Then can I go back in with Derek?"

"Yes, you can remain, but only one other person at a time."

Penelope nodded and let them lead her away.

XXXX

"Momma, I swear, I'll be fine," Derek said. "I've definitely been in worse shape than this before," he commented dryly. "I'm more worried about Penelope."

"Go figure," Fran muttered. "She's nowhere to be found at the moment, Derek -"

"Because she's getting some tests done," Derek said tiredly. "I talked to the doctor."

"What tests?"

"Some bloodwork and an ultrasound; I'm worried she put the baby in jeopardy worrying about me."

"I'm sure she is fine."

"Her maybe, but I can't be so sure about the little one."

"You want me to send someone else in?" Fran asked gently.

Derek sighed. "Yeah, I guess -"

Fran left and JJ was in moments later. "So, I hear you're finally settling down," she teased. "You might want to tell that to all the crazy unsubs out there - Derek Morgan's fine body is off limits to bombers, crazy people with knives, guns, and duct tape."

"Dare I ask why duct tape?" he tried to laugh.

"Duct tape is universal - can always get you into trouble. Where is Pen?"

"Tests."

"She was a wreck Derek - a wreck!"

"I know, I made the doctor look at her."

"I bet she just insisted that she was fine?"

"You know it," he sighed as JJ slumped into the chair. "I wish she wouldn't lie to me like that -"

"She isn't really lying," JJ said softly. "She thinks she's okay because she tells herself that she is. It's how she copes."

"Well, she wasn't - I heard her barfing in the hallway as soon as she went to get the doctor," he said, his voice heavy with worry and sadness.

"Women are stronger than you think."

"Its not that I don't think that she is strong, I just worry it will make her worse if something was to happen to the baby - or to me."

"Meaning what?" JJ asked.

"You're her best female friend," he said. "Didn't you know how hurt she was after Lola?"

"Yes... we talked about it a lot," JJ acknowledged. "It's okay, Derek - she's a survivor and she's in that mode right now. She'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so - " he said.

XXXX

"See right there," the tech said, "that is your baby."

"Not very big, is it?"

"Not really at this stage - oh wait - what's that?"

"I... don't know," Penelope admitted. "You tell me."

He moved the wand a little and said, "Did you know you're having twins?"

Her heart leapt into her throat. "Oh my god - no - no one told me -"

"The doctor will want to see you again."

"What does this mean?" Penelope asked.

"It means that instead of one child you will have two, it means you will be doubly sick as well from all the hormones."

"So being so sick is normal?" she asked anxiously.

The tech smiled at her. "Perfectly."

"Derek will be go glad to hear that," Penelope sighed. "He's so worried about me right now -"

"And your babies are strong and healthy," the tech added. "So you just relax till the doctor comes back in to talk to you. They've already taken the blood, so you should be good."

"Thanks," Penelope smiled.

The doctor returned, "I think I want to talk to both you and Mr Morgan at the same time, will that be okay?"

She nodded.

Like she wouldn't want to tell him that he was going to be a daddy twice over!

She collected herself and her illness kit, then followed the doctor back to Derek's room. "Okay, visiting time is over for the moment," Jones said firmly.

Reid raised an eyebrow. "I was led to believe that Penelope plus one other would be allowed in the room -"

"Junior G-man, just give us a few minutes," Penelope said softly, "then you can come back in and torture us both with inane facts about the National Parks system."

"We need to talk to Mr Morgan," the doctor said.

"Is something wrong?" Derek asked

"Not exactly," the doctor said.

"Come on - don't leave me hanging like this."

"I'm having twins," Penelope blurted out.

"I'll be back," Reid said, escaping the room very quickly to spread the new gossip.

"Twins?" Derek said, his voice rising with excitement. "Seriously?"

"Very seriously," Jones replied. "And as such, Miss Garcia needs to rest and not get stressed out like she's been -"

"I work for the FBI," Penelope muttered. "So much for no stress."

"Well you may need modifications to your job to accommodate your pregnancy."

"They need me, I am their technical analyst."

"They may have to figure things out for you."

"I'll talk to the boss," Derek said.

"He's in a hospital bed at the moment," Penelope pointed out. "I haven't even been in there to see him yet - I was too worried about you."

"Silly girl," Derek said softly, "I'm fine."

"You've got a ten-inch gash in your spine," she snapped. "I don't think that's very fine!"

"I'll get over it, now we need to take care of you."

"Women have been pregnant for centuries," Penelope laughed.

"Not my woman - you are sick, you are my priority now."

"I can take care of myself."

"Penelope Garcia, do not make me put you over my knee and spank that luscious ass of yours," he scolded.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Jones said, clearing his throat and chuckling. "I'll have someone roll in a cot for her."

"Thanks," Derek said. "For everything."

"I'm glad things are working out."

"Me too." Derek admitted.

"I will give the clearance that she stays as long as you are here."

"Thanks again." Penelope added.

As soon as the doctor left, Fran burst into the room. "What is this I hear about twins?" she demanded.

"Apparently, we're having them," Derek said dryly.

"Apparently so," she spat. "I want grandchildren Derek, but not at the expense of my son."

"Whoa, hold up - I am fine."

"Not in this job - look what happened to your father, do you want that for your kids?"

"Fran, stop," Penelope said, holding her hand up in a placating gesture. "What happened was obviously an accident - a fluke. No one could've predicted that it was going to happen. And Derek is fine now, right?"

"Fine," Derek echoed.

"But what about next time - or the time after that..."

"Momma stop," Derek demanded.

"I just don't want the same fate for your kids."

"We'll talk about this later," Penelope said firmly. "Right now, Derek needs to rest."

"So do you, Baby Girl," he said.

"Okay - we're going to take a nap," Penelope compromised.

She pulled the cot over and tried to get it as close to him as she could and she lay on her side and cuddled into him, she finally fell asleep in his arms.

**End Part Eleven**


	12. Chapter 12

**Part Twelve**

The team stayed in Texas until Derek was released from the hospital, then they all headed home as a unit - including Fran. Derek, having been closest to the blast, had some issues from the actual explosion damaging his ear drums, but he was okay with flying as long as Penelope was there to give him his meds and comfort him when the pain was too much to bear.

Penelope was playing poker with Derek, Reid, and Emily when Fran said, "Derek, I really want you to think this through - being a part of this unit, of law enforcement in general, is not a path you should be on if you're having children..."

Derek gritted his teeth and looked around the room. "Hotch has a son," he rebutted, "and so does JJ. Their kids are turning out fine -"

"My wife died in the line of duty," Hotch said.

"Will and I always fight about the dumbest things because I'm so tired from kicking ass and taking names all day," JJ added mildly as she finished off her bag of Cheetos.

"Yeah, but Jack and Henry are two of the smartest, well-adjusted kids I've ever seen," Derek said. "Momma, this job is a part of me - and a part of Pen, and it's what makes us who we are. It brought us together and I'm not giving up something I love and am good at because there's a chance I might get hurt."

"He's really good at what he does," Penelope said softly, looking up at Fran. "This team would fall apart without him. I can't ask Derek to give this up and I wouldn't."

"Then you may end up with the same fate as me," she said flatly.

"If you weren't so negative, Momma, maybe it wouldn't sound so bad."

Penelope looked up from her cards and directly at Fran. "Please don't take this the wrong way," she said, "but you cannot make decisions for your son anymore. He's forty-two years old and he knows what he's doing. I can influence him one way or the other, but ultimately, the decision is his. And I feel safer knowing that he's out there putting away the really hard luck crazies that no one else stands a snowball's chance in hell of catching. Ma'am."

"I just don't want to have a conversation in a few years because he got injured really badly in the line of duty and you have a mitt full of kids at home."

"You won't," Derek assured her.

"Now, look," Fran said firmly, "I am not going to punish you for wanting to be married and have kids, but this job -"

"I will put Morgan in a position to be less apt to be injured," Hotch said.

"Really?" Derek asked, his brow furrowing.

Hotch shrugged. "We'll talk about it later."

"Come on Hotch - "

"Learn from my mistakes, please."

"Fine, we will talk later."

Reid took their snacks, yet again, but it wasn't like Penelope cared much - she still had her crackers and soda, so she was good.

They hit a pocket of turbulence and she immediately lurched toward the bathroom, despite Emily and JJ trying to hold her back in the seat. She was not about to be responsible for damage to the leather seats.

The jet couldn't land soon enough - the turbulence was enough to make the others sick, not just Pen.

When they were finally back on the ground, Penelope practically burst off the plane. "Never again," she swore. "I'm never flying anywhere again while I'm pregnant."

Derek put his arm around her waist and assured her, "Okay, baby - just take a deep breath and relax..."

"Except maybe to Vegas," she said. "We've got to get married, right? Married before the babies get here -"

"If that is what you want, then yes."

"Vegas - is that how we are doing it?"

"We could just go to town hall - "

"Vegas could be more fun."

"But you'd have to get back on a plane," he pointed out.

"Maybe when the morning sickness stops," she said cheerfully. "Let's go get Clooney and go home, okay? Mama needs a nap - and more crackers."

"I can't wait until I get to sleep in my own bed," he yawned.

"It is now our bed - right, handsome?"

"Our own bed," he corrected himself with a silly grin. "C'mon, Momma - we're goin' home."

XXXX

It didn't bother her that much, but Derek still hadn't bought her a ring. She looked at JJ with her wedding band and her sparkly engagement ring and felt a pang of envy, but she really didn't need a stupid ring to prove that she was going to be a Morgan. Or, at least, she didn't think she did.

But when she ran into Kevin Lynch in the commissary one day when she went down to pick up her sandwich and salad, she kind of wished that she did have it - so she didn't look so much like a hopeless case.

"Hello, Penny," he greeted with a small smile. "How have you been?"

"I'm... fine," she said. Fine was neutral enough. It was less committed than ecstatic, but far from being dismal.

"I heard you broke up with that chick you were seeing," he said. "I'm glad you decided that lesbianism was wrong for you -"

She suddenly felt like throwing her apple at him. "You know, Kevin, you really shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about," she snapped. "I'm with someone. It shouldn't matter to you who I've been with or who I'm with now - I cut you out of my life because you weren't what I wanted."

"So you are hooked up with another chick?" he sneered.

"What difference would it make to you if I were?" she asked.

"None, but it seems odd to go from me to a girl."

She wished her lunch was in her office already and she didn't have to deal with Kevin Lynch right now.

She heard a familiar voice, "Hey guys, can you all come here for a minute?" She was never so happy to hear Derek.

When she turned around, in the middle of the bullpen was Derek Morgan on one knee with a ring case in his hand. She blinked a little to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She wanted to see the expression on Kevin's face but didn't want to break Derek's gaze.

She took a few steps toward him, juggling her lunch, but Derek just came over, grabbed the offending items, set them on JJ's desk, and led Penelope where he wanted her to be. "You know I was going to go with you to get lunch, right?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Uh - no, I didn't."

"Well, you didn't ask," he teased, getting back down on one knee. "Penelope Garcia, will you eat lunch with me every day? And breakfast, too? Oh, and supper? I keep forgetting we're supposed to eat three times a day because you take my breath away and all I want is to keep watching you..." He opened the ring box. "Baby Girl, will you marry me?"

Kevin snorted derisively. "Wow, that's the lamest proposal I've ever -"

Penelope leaned down and kissed Derek fiercely. "Yes," she whispered. "A thousand times, yes. And could you go kick Kevin's ass now?"

Derek looked up and Kevin took off running. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

"I'm so happy right now." He murmured.

"Me too," she grinned.

"I've got my girl - finally - and who knew? She always wanted me, too," he teased, slipping the ring onto her finger.

"We all knew," Prentiss piped in. They all started laughing.

"So when is the big day?" Kevin sneered.

Penelope looked at Derek, "As soon as possible, I want to make her an honest woman before the babies are born."

"Babies!" Kevin choked.

"Yes, babies." Penelope smiled.

"That's not fair," Kevin protested.

"What's not fair?" Derek asked. "That she said yes to me?"

Kevin leveled an accusing finger at Penelope. "You said you didn't want kids - you always made me wear a condom and you were on the pill! Did you get knocked up just so you could snag Derek Morgan, the player?"

Derek took one menacing step toward Kevin and growled, "You wanna repeat that, or do you want my fist in your face?"

"I knew we didn't work out because you were in love with him - I told my mother that!"

Penelope got in his face, "It didn't work out because you were about as supportive as an old bra, sure you were comfortable - for a while but after a while you weren't even that!"

"You left me to be with him -"

"No, I left you because I got tired of your constant issues and realized that, really, I was only dating you because I was too scared to go out and find something better - so would you please fuck off?" she snapped. "I'm done with you now."

"I am NOT done with you! I deserve an explanation."

Derek stepped in between them, "You deserve NOTHING."

"This is not between me and you, AGENT Morgan," he spat.

"The minute you got in her face it became my problem, you see, she is carrying my children and if she gets stressed ou,t she runs the risk of hurting my children. You have exactly three seconds to turn around and leave."

Kevin stood there, spluttering, then he pointed at Penelope. "This isn't over," he said. "I will get what I'm entitled to -"

"Absolutely fucking nothing," Derek growled menacingly. "Get out. Now. Do not make me hurt you."

"Derek, leave him alone," Penelope murmured. "He isn't worth it."

"He comes near you again, I will see to it he will never get around you ever."

"Derek, he is not worth your time."

"He hurts you or the babies and he will be worth my time."

"Stop threatening him," she said softly. "Let him leave, okay? I just want to eat my lunch - with you."

Most of the aggression left his body the second she said that, and Lynch took it as his cue to run like hell. Penelope kissed the back of Derek's shoulder and murmured, "You're my own private guard dog."

"And I don't back down - I promise you that."

She smiled.

"My only priority these days is keeping you and our babies safe."

"Then when you go back down to the cafeteria to get your lunch, could you bring me back a bottle of chocolate milk?" she teased, hugging him lightly from behind. "And some napkins?"

"How is that protecting you?" he laughed

"I'm scared of the big bad cafeteria, they may be cooking something that these two don't like..."

"Fine - I'll be right back."

She chuckled and gave him a quick kiss. "Love you."

"Love you, too," he replied, heading for the elevator.

Exactly five seconds after he was gone, JJ and Emily descended. "Oh my god, let me see the ring," JJ demanded, giggling. "Did you see the look on Lynch's _face_?"

"Holy crap, that's a hell of a rock," Emily joked. "You think he wanted you bad or something?"

Penelope blushed. "I guess so."

"Twice as much karat weight for two babies?" JJ teased.

"I knew he loved me," Penelope joked.

"So did we, like seriously," Emily added.

They could see Derek approaching from the distance.

"Just look at him," Emily said, smiling. "He's happy - for the first time in a long time. He's not all guarded and tied up in knots."

As he came into eyesight, he held up a bottle of milk, some napkins, and a sandwich, with a silly smile.

"Aww, isn't he cute?" JJ giggled.

"Very." Penelope smiled.

"How is my little momma doing?" he asked sitting down.

"Better now," she said, taking the chocolate milk.

"Are you two going to go get lunch or something?" he said pointedly.

"Oh, yeah, we're going out," JJ said, chuckling. "No sense in disturbing your peaceful lunch... by the way, Morgan?"

"Hmm?"

"The way to a girl's heart isn't necessarily a huge diamond."

"No, it's a huge -"

"Derek!" Penelope gasped, flushing bright red.

"What?" He smiled. "I'm not afraid to tell them. I like to please a lady, especially my lady."

"On that note - we are off," JJ laughed.

**End Part Twelve**


	13. Chapter 13

**Part Thirteen**

She rolled over, tired, frustrated, and missing the hell out of Derek. Once the nausea had passed a few days before, all she wanted was to cuddle and fuck - and, of course, Derek was off on a case. She groaned and threw a pillow at the clock that taunted her with its readout of 12:43 AM.

As if on cue, her phone rang.

"Did I wake you?" he asked.

"No - can't sleep."

"What's wrong?"

"I miss you - I want to cuddle and I am horny as hell and where are you - San fucking Diego!"

"Were on our way back - does that help?"

"No," she pouted, "because it'll be time to get up by the time you get home -"

"Baby Girl," he said softly, "I will make it up to you - I promise."

She sighed. "And I woke up this morning and realized I look like a fat monster and none of my clothes fit."

"We will go shopping - will that make it up?"

"Keep talking handsome - keep talking..."

"And we'll stay in bed all weekend," he said.

"Tell me what you'll do to me," she replied.

"Woman, I'm on a plane with our co-workers - they do not need to know what demented, deranged things I'm going to do to you this weekend."

They all shot him a glance and went back to playing cards.

"Well go to the bathroom or something so you can tell me..."

"I'll be home soon."

"Derek!"

"Woman, you just go try to sleep," he said pointedly.

"How can I sleep when all I want is you deep inside me?" she whined.

"Soon enough - if you keep it up, it's going to be a very uncomfortable ride home for me."

"Oh - so tellin' you I want your hard cock buried deep inside me as I wrap my legs around you and hang on for dear life won't help you?"

"Penelope!"

"Tit for tat, handsome!"

"Woman, I have to at least pretend to be in control over here -"

"Why? Just sneak off to the bathroom and we can have nasty, dirty phone sex."

"Penelope, seriously..."

"I am very serious - I am very horny and I cannot sleep."

He sighed. The next thing she heard was the sound of the bathroom door closing and locking. "Okay, fine - I'm in the bathroom..."

"I'm between satin sheets," she retorted. "They feel so cold - and I'm so fucking hot for you..."

"What are you wearing?" he asked.

"Nothing - nothing but the sheets."

"Where are your hands?" she purred.

"Where do you want them?" he asked.

"Everywhere," she murmured.

"Baby, I only have two hands," he teased. "And one of them is going to be occupied in a minute."

She giggled. "Oh, poor baby -"

"Where are your hands?" he inquired.

"My breasts - they're aching and every time I touch them, I get hotter and wetter..."

"Are you riding solo, or will Bob be joining us?" he teased.

"Oh handsome, I am so hot Bob doesn't even need to come out and play..."

"Run your hands down your body and tell me how it feels..."

She did as he asked, slowly letting her fingers caress her bare skin. "Oh my god," she exhaled shakily. "Derek, I could get off just doing that - do you get it now?"

"Apparently my baby is wanton?" he laughed.

"I just want you to touch me, taste me - feel me..."

"Baby Girl, I'll be able to do that when we land -"

"Yeah, but it's not going to be as good as this is now -"

"Wanna make a bet?" he growled. "I'm going to suck your nipples till you start moaning like the little pornstar you are - and then I'm going to make you come..."

"How?" she moaned. "How are you going to make me come?"

"I plan to dive my face to the heat between your legs and drink until I am full - "

"Ummmmm" she moaned. "Then what?"

"Then I plan to lick from your hip bone to your neck and pay close attention to that little spot on your neck - the one you like kissed."

"Oh - handsome...keep talking..."

"Then I will kiss you hard, full on the mouth as I line myself up and plunge deep inside you..."

She moaned softly as she started to touch her folds, then her clit. "Keep talking, my tall glass of chocolate milk," she purred. "What are you going to be doing with that tongue of yours?"

He was having a really, really hard time - pun intended - trying to remain calm. She was doing this on purpose, he knew, because his girl was nothing if not naughty when she wanted to be. And apparently, this was one of those times.

"Oh, I plan on using my tongue to its full advantage," he commented. "It'll be plunging, rubbing against yours like my dick is in your pussy."

"Dear god, yes," she groaned longingly. "Make the jet go faster."

"Baby, the jet goes fast enough - can't you calm down for a few minutes and wait for me...?"

"Are you kidding, keep talking - I am on the verge of an absolutely amazing orgasm..."

He had all he could do not to get his self all riled up. "Baby Girl -"

"Keep talking," she pleaded.

He groaned, resting his head against the closed door. "Do you know how hard I am listening to you finger fucking yourself?"

"That's just what I like to hear," she purred. "And Mama will kiss it and make it all better - when you get home."

"Yes, but I need to go back out there and take this jet to get home. I cannot stay in here till we land..."

"Why not, tell them you are constipated or something - now keep talking."

He sighed, closing his eyes. "Penelope..."

"Tell me how I feel - how I make you feel when we're fucking," she said, moaning when she found a good spot that made her even hotter. "Fuck... yes... yes... c'mon, D, hurry -"

"I love the feel of you around me and when you come - you squeeze around my cock and hold on..."

"Oh fuck …..keep talking - please..."

"You're so tight, so warm, so wet - and you love it when I hit your gspot..."

She fell silent, then he could hear her gasping for breath. "Oh - don't stop," she cried. "Keep - talking - fuck..."

"I love it when you dig your fingers into my shoulders trying to get more depth..."

"Don't stop - please - God - Don't stop..."

"And when your legs are so tight around my hips that I can barely move - and you hold me there and come like a firework exploding..."

She fell silent again; he hoped it was just because she was overwhelmed.

"Ohhh..." she breathed.

"Was it good?"

"Would've been so much better with you inside me," she admitted.

He chuckled. "I need to calm down after hearing that, woman - you've spoiled me against my hand."

"I'll make it up to you when you get back - I'll leave the light on...just wake me up when you get here."

"We have to work in the morning." he sighed.

"It won't take long- handsome..."

"Baby, you try to get some rest, okay?" he said softly. "Those little monkeys of ours need rest, too."

She chuckled. "Mama's keeping them awake now," she teased. "I probably disrupted their routine just now..."

He laughed and slowly started getting a grip on his control again - he wanted to go back into the cabin without a trace of the hard-on he was currently sporting. "I love you, silly girl - and I love our little monkeys."

She smiled indulgently on the other end. "I have a bump now," she commented. "You'll be surprised when you see it."

"I've only been gone a week -"

"Apparently a week is all it takes," she teased.

"So you are a really sexy momma now?"

"If you say so. I'm going to nap - wake me when you get home."

XXXX

He tried to be as quiet as he could but as soon as the dog heard him he was frantically barking. Clooney raced down the stairs, teeth bared, bark still going on high, till he saw it was Derek. Then he was all licks and happy whining and playful nipping. "Hey, boy," Derek said with a smile, rubbing behind his ears. "There's my good guard dog - you took good care of Mama while I was gone."

Penelope appeared at the top of the stairs, bleary-eyed and stark naked. "Oh... it's just you," she said with a yawn.

"Woman, would you just run out here naked for anyone?" he asked, wounded.

"No, I - fuck, I forgot my robe," she mumbled sleepily.

He pressed her against the counter and placed a kiss on her lips that left it open to more.

"Let's go back upstairs, handsome," she said taking his hand.

"If you're tired, I can wait," he said softly.

She smiled and looked up at him with a silly smile. "I'm never too tired for my Hot Stuff," she purred. "I missed you so much - you just don't even know, baby."

"I thought you were going to show me just how much you missed me..." he teased.

"Don't worry, handsome, you will be shown."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret having to go away?"

Her smile grew. "You know what the doctor said about extra hormones? Yeah, I'm ready to climb the walls pretty much all the time. So, anytime you want a little somethin' somethin', I will definitely be ready to join you for that romp."

"Wonder if Hotch would give me some time off - to play with my woman..."

"I doubt it handsome, it is not usually Hotch's style."

Derek scowled a little. "I'm allowed vacation time -"

"Which you're planning on taking when the babies are born," she reminded him with a chuckle.

"Except for a long weekend," he said, "so I can whisk you off to Vegas and make you my wife properly."

She fell silent and looked at him shyly for a moment before the mask fell back into place. "If that's what you want, who am I to protest?" Penelope asked. "But it better be sooner, rather than later, because once I hit the six month mark, they're keeping me on the ground - and maybe even on bed rest."

"What were you doing this weekend again?" he laughed. "Do you have plans?"

"That depends...I'll have to ask my boyfriend..."

"Oh, you mean you have a boyfriend?"

"I sure do - apparently he wants to make me his wife..."

"Well, that's just not going to do," Derek said, tsking with his tongue. "Because I'm going to drag you off and steal you from him - we'll elope before he knows what's going on."

"Derek Morgan, you're insane," she accused, laughing.

"You love it, though."

"That is true, seems insanity loves company..."

"Alright woman, I want my treat, I have been a very good and patient boy..."

"That you have - " she growled.

"Damn," he said, taking in her sudden predatory shift. "I think someone is still -" He was silenced by her lips crashing against his in a possessive kiss that was anything but tender.

And then he was against the wall outside the spare bedroom and she was busy with impatiently unbuttoning his shirt. He used her distraction as a weapon and hoisted her over his shoulder. He tapped her ass and carried her into their bedroom. "Don't make me spank you," he growled.

"Promises - Promises..."

"Penelope!"

"Come on handsome, come get me..." she teased.

He threw her onto the bed and said, "I'll come and get you all right." He shed his clothes in a hurry and joined her - planting a searing kiss on her lips, making her moan and grab his already hard cock. "Woman, don't think I haven't been fighting a hard-on since the plane," he growled.

"I was hoping that was the case..." she teased.

He held her down on the bed and smiled. "Now you will get your punishment for making me that hard on the jet..."

"Mmm, punishment?" she said doubtfully. "Will I enjoy my punishment?"

"What kind of punishment is it if you enjoy it?" he asked, laughing.

"Oh Handsome, I have been such a naughty girl - I can barely keep my hands to myself..."

"Is that so?" he laughed.

"Oh yes," she purred. "I've been playing with myself all day. I want to play with my Hot Stuff now."

He laid back on the bed, hands behind his head. "So what are you waiting for, Momma?"

She shot him a seductive look, "are you sure you are ready for this?"

He chuckled. "Bring it on, Mama," he said. "But don't expect me to just sit back and behave myself."

"Sit back and enjoy yourself," she purred.

She started licking his toes and kissing up his leg, he did a whole body shiver and she continued to crawl up his body.

"I am madly in love with the man who put a ring on my finger," she murmured, licking his upper thigh and smirking when he shivered again. "Not that I needed a ring to love him - but he's also the father of my children and a fantastic superhero. And I want him to know just how much I do love him..."

"Stop talking," he begged.

"Why sug, you know I'm a talker..."

"Stop talking and get to paying me back - I can't hold out much longer..."

"Hot Stuff, I've barely gotten started on you!"

"I've been away for a damn week," he reminded her with a grunt.

"I know - I missed you immensely." She leaned in and teased him with a kiss.

"Penelope! You really need to stop teasing."

"And ruin all my fun..."

"Woman, I swear to everything holy that I will -"

She laughed and crawled the rest of the way up his body to give him a lingering, hungry kiss. "I love you - you silly, impatient boy," she murmured.

"Then for the love of god speed this up!"

"But I am having so much fun," she pouted.

"We can take our time later," he reminded her. "Long weekend this weekend - baby, we're getting married and..."

She giggled. "You're like a puppy with a bone...r."

"I thought you were horny."

"Oh, now, that's below the belt."

"I am, but I want to play too..it's been a whole week since I laid hands on your beautiful body - since I felt your hard cock in me - since I did this..." she said taking him into her mouth.

He bucked off the bed into her mouth, groaning and threading his fingers in her hair. "Penelope," he exhaled.

"Mmm?" she hummed around his dick.

"Fuck - god damn it - " She sucked on him, licking the slit as she sucked. "Penelope, I'm fucking - fuck, that's good, baby - serious - fuck..."

"You are not enjoying?" she asked between sucks.

"That's not the problem - believe me."

"Then what's the problem?" she inquired.

"I want to be inside you -"

"You are inside me - my mouth, anyway," she replied, humming against his shaft.

"FUCK! That is not what I mean - come on - please..."

"Why..." she purred, "you seem to be really enjoying this..."

"But you're so - fuck, baby - tight - oh - and - mmm - wet - suck it - and - harder, baby - so good -"

She chuckled, feeling him stiffen in response to the vibrations.

"So tell me.." she purred, you want me to finish this...or go for a ride? Tell me handsome - the choice is yours..."

"Oh fuck -" he growled, "Don't stop."

"Mmm, I thought so," she murmured.

She began to suck harder and play with his balls, she was pushing hard on his perenium when he finally let go, warmth flowing down her throat.

She licked him clean, listening to the hitching of his breath as she did so, and then she sat back. "Bedtime now?" she suggested with a smirk.

"Payback," he grunted, grabbing her, rolling her over onto her back, and pinning her to the bed. "Wifey, you are gonna pay for that."

"Oh sugar - tell me more..." she purred. "What are you going to do to me..."

He kissed her hard on the lips and curled in beside her, "I guess you will have to wait and see."

"You better not just roll over and go to sleep," she said with a pout.

"Hell no, woman," he growled.

"Why is it you can tease me until I am almost mad but when I tease you hell is out for recess..."

"Because I am horny...as you already stated."

"That is no excuse."

"So what are you going to do, you are running out of time..."

He glowered at her. "Meaning what exactly?"

She smirked. "I'll just take care of myself."

"Oh no - never let it be said that my woman isn't being satisfied by her man," Derek growled.

"Well then hurry up, handsome. You are wasting precious time I could be a happy lady."

"You mean you are not a happy lady?"

"I didn't say that..."

"Sounded like you did."

"Now you're putting words in my mouth -"

"The only words I wanna hear coming out of your mouth are 'oh god, Derek, yes - more, fuck me, more'," he snapped, slipping his hand between her legs. "So start saying 'em."

"Then start making me happy - I'm not a faker - you know that!"

He dove his face in between her legs and ran his tongue up the full length, she shivered. He concentrated on licking, sucking, nibbling on her clit, making her hips buck of their own accord. "Fuck - what the - oh -" And then he squeezed her ass. She whimpered and fought to keep herself relatively calm and under control. It was a losing battle - she was too horny to even try.

"Oh god Derek, yes more - more …" she growled.

"Now that's what I was talking about..." he grinned going back in for more.

He added a finger into the mix and she moaned loudly.

"You're so hot," he murmured, blowing cool air over her clit. She let out a startled noise, then moaned again, the sound echoing in her ears. He blew on her again, and she began to feel things tense up as she got closer and closer to the edge. "So sexy. And all mine."

"Oh fuck - please do not stop..."

"Don't plan to..."

She gave up trying to talk at that point, because he moved in for the kill. It was all she could do to hold on for the ride; her fingers tangled in the sheets, she bit her lower lip hard enough that it bled, and she was having a hell of a time breathing. Every little thing he did was just so damn good -

"Oh fuck -oh fuck..." she moaned.

He kept the pace, as she was clenching around his fingers.

She went rigid, then started spasming with the second wave. "Oh - fuck - FUCK - god - fuck - OH -" she shrieked. He was more than willing to keep going, and brought her over the edge a few more times before she managed to croak, "No more - god, it's too much - no more -"

"Can't handle the heat?" he laughed.

"Handsome I have literally been coming off one orgasm and on to another one all week...I don't think I can handle any more right now."

He chuckled. "You're so cute when you're -"

"Stop it," she warned. "Stop it right there. You can't compliment me for being on the verge of coming every time I inhale, okay?"

"So you're getting no relief?"

"Just another build-up," she sighed.

"Is this normal?" he asked.

"As far as I know, it's an influx of hormones..."

"And you're just horny all the time?"

"Oh, handsome, a stiff wind could come up and I'd be a goner," she teased. "Your babies are restless little buggers."

He joined her on the nest of pillows and smiled. "How soon till they can tell the sexes?" he inquired.

"Soon," she murmured. "But I'm not sure I want to know."

"Why not?"

"Because you have your expectations and I just want healthy, happy babies," she sighed, smiling slightly when he brought her fingers to his lips for a kiss.

"My expectations are being far surpassed," he assured her.

"I think it might be better if we're surprised - what do you think?"

"I thought you didn't like surprises, momma?"

"I don't, but I don't necessarily like the idea of planning everything ahead of time, either," she murmured, stifling a yawn.

"You know what I'd like?" Derek asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"Two beautiful little girls who look like their Momma," he said.

"You're crazy," she sighed. "Why on earth would you want anyone to look like me? Poor kids. Daddy loves you, really, he's just a little addled in the brainpan."

"You are beautiful, come on, little girls with blonde locks and that smile - they will have daddy wrapped right around their little fingers."

"I would rather cute little kids that look like you," she cooed.

"Nah," he said, "'cause if they look like me, they're gonna lose their virginity when they're like 10 and then we're gonna spend the rest of our lives trying to beat people off 'em."

She laughed. "Really?"

"Close your eyes, sweetheart," he murmured. "You need your rest."

"You didn't lose your virginity at 10 did you?"

He looked away, "Kind of, but not in a good way."

She felt like a heel for asking, "Sorry."

"And I was a goofy looking kid anyway," he muttered. "No cursing my kids to that."

"Baby," she said softly, "you know you can talk to me about things. That I don't judge you because you were abused - I judge you because you didn't make a move on me eight years ago."

"Well if you want to get down to it, one is the result of the other. I know I can talk to you, it's just not something I like to talk about."

"I have my demons too, handsome."

"I know about your mom and step-dad," he said, "and the hacking - so what other possible demons can you have, Baby Girl?"

She sighed. "It's like four in the morning," she pointed out, "and we have to be at work at nine."

"Can we raincheck it?"

She nodded, "Come be my teddy bear."

He curled up with her, letting her rest her head on his chest. "Close those eyes," Derek whispered. "And get some sleep."

**End Part Thirteen**


	14. Chapter 14

**Part Fourteen**

"Where are you off to?" Derek asked as Penelope came through the bullpen at full speed.

"I've been called in to talk to Strauss," she tossed over her shoulder.

"Oh, that's not good," Emily said. "She must have heard about the two of you -"

"Well, I guess I will see," Penelope said as she walked towards the dreaded office.

"Ah Penelope, please - take a seat."

"Ma'am," Penelope said, sitting down primly and tucking her cardigan around herself protectively. "I wanted to say that -"

Strauss held up her hand. "I'm merely here to convey a message from the Director."

"Which is?"

"That you have served the FBI admirably within the constraints of your plea deal," Strauss said. "But that your plea deal expires in a few months and we would like to extend an official contract with the BAU on your own technical merits, as opposed to just forcing you to work here."

"Oh, I see..." Penelope said.

"I can give you a couple of days to mull it over if you like."

"No, I can make my decision now."

"Are you certain?" Strauss inquired.

Penelope nodded. "I will take that contract - and keep it for as long as you and the Director will have me," she said. "Ma'am?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure you've heard gossip about Agent Morgan and myself -"

Strauss sighed. "I have already brought it to the Director's attention and he said that you and Agent Morgan have shown restraint enough to keep it professional in the building during office hours. I disagree, but I have been overruled in this matter."

"I see," Penelope said, "are we finished now? I have work to do."

"That is fine, I will pass your decision along."

"Thanks, Ma'am."

Penelope walked through the bullpen and stopped at Derek's desk. "Okay, so... no more sex in my office during work hours," she said pointedly. "Other than that, we're good - and we're still on for this weekend."

"Excuse me?" Derek questioned.

"Strauss knows about us, the director is fine, but we need to be professional at work."

"What just happened?"

"I just signed a contract."

"What kind of a contract?" he asked worriedly.

She reached out and brushed something off his shoulder. "Never you mind - it just means that I won't be getting transferred out of here any time soon," she said with a smile. "And we're still going to Vegas Friday night. The chapel is booked at 5 am."

"That is an early start..." he laughed.

"Sooner the better, really."

"Baby -"

She smiled. "Plus that was the only free space they had."

"Oh."

"Please tell me you haven't changed your mind."

"Never," he said softly.

"You guys have plans this weekend?" Reid asked.

"Yeah," Derek replied gruffly.

"What's wrong with him?" Reid questioned.

"Apparently not looking forward to being a morning person," Penelope laughed.

"I'd say that is bad timing with twins on the way," Emily added.

"No, it's more that I don't want to share," Derek grunted.

"Well, I was just going to ask if Garcia was still planning on going to the Steampunk convention with me, but since you guys have plans -"

"Oh god, that was _this_ weekend?" Penelope asked.

"Yes, but that's ok - really..." Reid tried to sound happy.

"I'm so sorry Reid, can I make it up to you?" Penelope asked.

"I can go with you," Emily commented. "I mean, I can't fill out a corset like Pen can, but I hold my own."

Penelope laughed. "Well, it's not just about the corset, Em - it's about the whole..."

"I know," Emily replied. "Contrary to popular belief, I've cosplayed a few times, and I do love the Steampunk genre, so I think I can handle it. So, what do you say, Reid?"

"I say you've got yourself a date," Reid replied.

"Oh, be careful of dates," Derek said. "Next thing you know, you two will be popping out kids."

Emily and Reid looked at each other and wrinkled their noses. "No way," Emily said, shuddering.

"Unthinkable," Reid added.

"You will be surprised..." Derek joked.

"No - we will not," Emily said sternly.

"You never know Emily, our resident pretty boy can be quite the charmer..."

"Derek, please drop it," Penelope urged.

"I'm just teasing momma,"

"Let's go,"

"Oh, where are you guys going this weekend?" Emily asked.

"Away," Penelope said pointedly. "And I bought our plane fare with my miles card, so -"

"Woman, I told you I would take care of that," Derek sighed.

"You can get the hotel," she replied with a grin.

"There's something disgustingly adorable about you two," Emily said, wrinkling her nose.

"You know you love it," Derek joked.

"Yeah, like a toothache," She laughed.

"We are jetting away for the long weekend, for a much needed vacation," Penelope smiled.

"Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do," Emily joked.

"I am not sure we could top your sin to win." Derek laughed again.

"I don't know about that," Penelope teased. "But I'm already knocked up, so what could it hurt, right?" She was beaming and he wondered briefly if she'd always been so gorgeous or if that "motherhood glow" was more than just a myth.

"Hey, Pen?" JJ asked, coming down into the bullpen. "Could you and Derek watch Henry for the weekend?"

"Uh, how about no," Derek said firmly. "We have plans. Out of town plans."

"Ok then, what about you Reid?"

"Nope, Steampunk convention with Emily, what about Hotch?"

"That's where I am headed to next," JJ said walking away.

Penelope hit Derek's arm, "Did you have to be so mean?"

"Woman, are those tickets refundable?"

"No -"

"Then yes, I did have to be mean," he said pointedly. "However, when we get back, we'll take Henry out for ice cream."

Emily laughed. "That's a pretty poor substitute for a weekend with the Morgans."

"I'm not a Morgan yet," Penelope reminded her.

"Come on, Baby Girl, it's time for you to go back to your office and get off your feet," Derek reminded her. "Remember what the doctor said -"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're as bad as everyone else."

"I gotta protect my girls," he smiled.

"How can you be so sure they are girls?" she questioned.

"I have this feeling - besides I would rather they look like you."

"You're right," Reid said to Emily. "They are nauseating."

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Penelope sighed, poking Derek in the chest. "But I'm not going to be nice tonight."

"Dear god, my dick might fall off at this rate," Derek muttered.

She winked at him and blew him a kiss as she headed back to her office.

"Yeah, you two are disgusting," Emily added. "Completely."

XXXX

"You may now kiss the bride," the Elvis impersonator told them - but Derek had already taken the reins on that one. He was kissing Penelope like his life depended on it; which was fine, since she was kissing him back with equal force.

He whispered in her ear, "How does it feel to be a Morgan?"

"Absolutely amazing, but now my husband owes me a naughty honeymoon night."

He took her hand and led her to their room.

Derek Morgan knew how to treat a woman; she would give him that. The suite he'd booked was fantastic, luxurious, and she didn't give a shit as long as the bed was comfortable. She kicked off her heels and took a running jump onto the bed with a squeal as he followed suit. She giggled and kissed him. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?"

"Loving me."

"Penelope, I have always loved you."

She smiled. "Are we going to tell everyone when we get back?"

"I haven't decided yet." He grinned.

"I say let's let them sweat it out - till my new credentials come in," Penelope said with a smile. "Then we should have a huge party."

"Maybe not a huge party," Derek said, chuckling.

"I love being married to you," she breathed, kissing him. "And think of it this way - it only took two failed relationships to get this far."

"I still can't really believe you slept with a woman," he said.

"When I could've had you? I'm feeling pretty stupid now, too," she agreed. "But I guess I learned something from it."

"What's that?" he laughed.

"That what I wanted was always right in front of me all these years."

"I'm always in front of you," he teased. "And behind you. And inside you."

She giggled and kissed him hard.

And they all lived happily ever... well, that's another story.


End file.
